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AMONG 


COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


BY  ^ 


O.  J.   KERN 


Superintendent  of  Schools,  Winnebago  County 
Illinois 


GINN   &   COMPANY 

BOSTON  •  NEW   YORK  •  CHICAGO  •  LONDON 


Copyright,  1906 
Bv  O.  J.  KERN 


ALL    RIGHTS   RESERVED 


gftt   gtftenaum    ^rtas 

GINN    &   COMPANY  •  I'kO- 
I'RIliTOKS  .  IIUSTON  •  U.S.A. 


THIS   BOOK  IS  DEDICATED  TO  ALL  THOSE  WHOSE 

FEET  HAVE  WANDERED  OR  MAY  WANDER 

ALONG  COUNTRY   ROADS,  OVER  FIELDS, 

THROUGH   WOODLAND,  TO  THE 

COUNTRY     SCHOOL 


PREFACE 

This  book  is  not  a  scientific  treatise  on  education  nor  a 
manual  of  methods  for  the  teacher.  This  may  be  the  need 
for  the  countr)'  school.  If  so,  some  one  better  fitted  must 
undertake  the  task  of  its  preparation. 

This  little  volume  is  not  even  a  book  on  agriculture.  It 
may  be  fairly  questioned  whether  or  not  the  country  school- 
teacher needs  something  else  before  a  text-book  on  the 
science  and  practice  of  fanning. 

In  a  personal  letter  to  the  author  dated  December  19, 
1904,  the  Honorable  James  Wilson,  United  States  Secre- 
tar)-  of  Agriculture,  says  : 

You  have  many  delightful  things  in  that  write-up  of  yours,  and  it 
seems  to  me  that  you  should  not  stop  short  in  speaking  to  the  public 
through  your  pen.  We  are  needing,  and  needing  ven,-  much,  agri- 
cultural te.xt-books.  I  have  said  this  before  to  a  great  many  people, 
and  have  asked  if  they  could  not  write  one  directed  to  the  farm  child 
through  farm  topics.  Something  is  being  done  along  that  line,  but 
there  is  a  great  deal  yet  to  be  done. 

The  author  hopes  that  this  book  \vill_prove  suggestive 
to  the  teacher  and  school  officer  who  are  strixing  for  the 
spiritualization  of  countr}'^  life  through  the  medium  of  the 
country  school.  He  believes  that  a  careful  reading  of  its 
pages  will  show  a  practical  way  of  interesting  the  "farm 
child  through  farm  topics." 


vui  PREFACE 

What  is  thus  offered  is  the  result  of  seven  years  of  very 
earnest  thought  and  hard  work  in  an  endeavor  to  secure 
for  the  country  child  his  rights  so  far  as  an  educational 
opportunity  is  concerned.  The  country  school  should  have 
that  freedom  which  country  life  affords.  This  book  has  but 
little  to  say  about  the  mechanics  of  school  management. 

In  the  training  of  children  and  the  development  of  char- 
acter no  greater  opportunity  can  be  offered  than  that  now 
belonging  to  the  teacher  in  the  country  school.  The  author 
hopes  these  pages  may  prove  helpful  in  the  way  of  making 
the  teacher  a  greater  inspirational  force  in  country  life. 
Likewise  no  such  opportunity  was  ever  presented  to  a 
school  officer  as  is  now  before  the  county  superintendent 
of  schools.  It  is  his  privilege  to  become  a  real  leader  in  an 
educational  way  and  to  do  original  constructive  work  in  the 
evolution  of  the  country  school  to  meet  the  new  conditions 
of  country  life. 

In  the  development  of  the  country  school  discourage- 
ments will  come  and  seemingly  insurmountable  obstacles 
will  block  the  way.  It  is  no  time,  then,  to  become  de- 
spondent or  cynical.  Go  out  under  the  stars  and  breathe 
the  resolve  in  prayer  to  be  true  to  right  ideals.    The  reward 

is  to  the  one  who  remains  steadfast  to  the  end. 

O.  J.  K. 
Highland,  Rockford,  Illinois 
July,  1906 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I 

THE   NEW   COUNTRY    LIFE 

Pages 

Improved  farm  machinery.  —  Methods  of  communication. 

—  Spiritualization  of  country  life.  —  Period  of  settling  down. 

—  Country  school  and  progress.  —  Exodus  to  the  cities.  — 
Statistics.  —  Right  Honoralile  James  Bryce  in  America, 
1904.  —  Relation  of  country  school  to  new  age  in  country 

life.  —  New  educational  ideal 1-14 

CHAPTER   II 
THE   RIGHTS   OF   THE    COUNTRY   CHILD 

An  educational  creed.  —  Educational  progress  in  cities. 

—  Country  and  city  contrasted.  —  Equality  of  educational 
opportunity.  —  A  ''square  deal."  —  A  Teacher's  Creed.— 
Beauty  in  country  life.  —  Attendance  in  country  schools  of 
Illinois.  —  Chart  No.  60.  —  Three  great  movements.  —  The 
problem 15-33 

CHAPTER   III 

OUTDOOR   ART:   BEAUTIFYING   SCHOOL  GROUNDS 

Influence  of  environment. — Inoculation  for  school  im- 
provement.—  Conditions  in  Illinois. —  Factors  in  the  prob- 
lem. —  Planting  and  programmes.  —  Some  material.  —  Seven 
agencies  for  the  beautiful  in  country  life.  —  Literature  on 
trees  and  forestry. —  President  Roosevelt  and  the  man  who 
"skins"  the  land.  —  Consolidated  school  grounds. —  Plea 
for  wild  flowers,  etc.  —  Excuse  no  longer  valid 34-55 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 
SCHOOL  GARDENS 


Pagbs 


An  experiment  in  country  schools.  —  A  modern  school. — 
Education  not  limited  to  the  "  three  R's."  —  Contrast  of  city 
conditions  and  country  conditions.  —  Effects  of  garden  work 
in  Philadelphia.  —  "Do-nothing"  policy.  —  Twofold  pur- 
pose of  school  garden  in  country  schools.  —  A  further  plea  for 
the  wild.  —  Literature  on  planting.  —  How  to  have  a  school 
garden.  —  Outline  of  work  for  institutes.  —  Bibliography.  — 
The  Macdonald  school  gardens.  —  Other  school  gardens     .       56-84 


CHAPTER  V 

INDOOR  ART  AND   DECORATION 

Aim  of  chapter.  —  Present  and  future.  —  Ideal  school 
board.  —  Waste  of  school  funds.  —  School  improvement 
society.  —  Responsibility  of  teacher.  —  Sanitary  commis- 
sion. —  Work  of  the  twins.  —  Cure  rather  than  endure.  — 
Stove  polish  and  jacket.  —  Water  tank.  —  Ventilation.  — 
Theoretical  art  interest.  —  Work  of  Art  Education  Society 
of  Cleveland.  —  Traveling  art  exhibits  at  teachers'  institutes. 

—  Course  in  art  reading. —  List  of  books. —  Suggestive  pro- 
gramme for  school  social.  —  Studies  of  Millet.  —  Gifts  of  an 
art  friend.  —  Work  of  Illinois  Congress  of  Mothers.  —  The 

old  country  schoolroom 85-102 

CHAPTER   VI 

SCHOOL  LIBRARIES 

Growth  of  libraries.  —  "  Everybody."  —  School  libraries 
in  various  states.  —  Do  country  children  need  good  books  ? 

—  Plea  of  poverty  on  part  of  school  officers.  —  Teachers  and 
right  use  of  books.  —  Twentieth-century  library  movement. 


CONTENTS  xi 

Pages 

—  Traveling  school  libraries.  —  Township  exercises  as  one 
means.  —  Sanitary  regulations  for  traveling  libraries.  — 
Contents  of  boxes.  —  Library  work  at  annual  teachers'  insti- 
tutes.—  List  of  books  on  United  States  history.  —  Results. 

—  School  libraries  in  New  York,  Massachusetts,  West 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  South  Carolina,  and 

Texas .   103-128 


CHAPTER  VII 
A   FARMER   BOYS'   EXPERIMENT   CLUB 

Country -school  extension  work.  —  Large  pupils  in  school. 

—  One  object.  —  Machinery  of  organization.  —  Relation  of 
school  to  a  boys'  club.  —  Work  of  boys.  —  Sugar  beets. — 
Growing  high-bred  corn.  —  Circulars  of  Illinois  Agricultu- 
ral Extension  Department.  —  Corn  and  regular  school  work. 

—  By-products  of  corn.  —  Reports  from  boys.  —  The  work 
in  various  states.  —  Account  of  contest  and  banquet  at  Lin- 
coln, Nebraska. —  Widespread  interest  in  boys' clubs     .     .    129-157 


CHAPTER   VIII 

EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS   TO  THE   COLLEGE  OF 
AGRICULTURE 

Excursion  a  factor.  —  Value  of  atrip. —  Education  for 
the  country  child.  —  Things.  —  Four  annual  excursions. — 
Character  of  excursions.  —  One  way  of  reaching  people.  — 
Inspiration  to  boys.  —  Secret  of  success. — ^  Programme  at 
Wisconsin  College  of  Agriculture. —  Illinois  Experiment 
Station.  —  What  one  boy  saw.  —  Visit  to  Iowa.  —  Breeding 
corn.  —  The  "Blue  Grays"  at  Ames.  —  The  corn  train. — 
Testing  seed  corn.  —  Bulletins 158-174 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IX 

THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  THE  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE 

Pages 

Who  attend  in  Illinois.  —  Who  do  not  attend.  —  Coopera- 
tion of  county  superintendents.  —  Educational  sessions  at 
state  round-up. —  Need  of  enlisting  the  young  people. — 
Boys'  session  of  Winnebago  County  Farmers'  Institute. — 
Some  reports  and  papers.  —  Prize  giving. —  Boys  study 
score  card.  —  Announcement  to  boys.  —  How  to  secure  re- 
ports from  boys.  —  Girls'  club.  —  Prizes.  —  Score  card  for 
bread.  —  Useful  bulletins 175-200 


CHAPTER   X 

THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  COUNTRY   SCHOOL 

"  Spasmodic  theorization."  —  Work  of  previous  chapters. 

—  Fundamentals.  —  Country  child  and  environment.  — • 
"Ways  and  means." — Hodge's  A-atiire  Study  and  Life. 

—  Attitude  of  the  "  educator."  —  Dean  Bailey.  —  Report  of 
Committee  on  Industrial  Education  for  Country  Communi- 
ties. —  Bulletins  in  country  schools.  —  Lectures.  —  Books 
in  traveling  libraries.  —  Agriculture  at  St.  Louis.  —  Secre- 
tary Wilson  on  value.  —  Appropriations  by  Illinois.  —  Dr. 
Hopkins  on  breeding  corn.  —  Funk  Brothers'  seed  farm.  — 
Soil  investigations.  —  Prairie  Farmer  editorial  on  "fads." 
Who  is  to  fit?  —  "Prophets  in  Israel."  —  An  educational 
campaign.  —  Dean  Davenport  on  the  consolidated  country 
school.  —  A  summary 201-225 


CONTENTS  Xlll 

CHAPTER   XI 

THE  FINANCIAL  PHASE  OF  THE   COUNTRY-SCHOOL 

PROBLEM 

Pages 

Increased  usefulness  of  country  schools.  —  Hard  to  realize 
change.  —  Small  schools  in  various  states. — -Small  school 
not  necessarily  a  poor  one.  —  Dollars-and-cents  argument.  — 
Some  statistics  in  one  county.  —  Some  observations.  — 
Amount  to  be  increased.  —  Better  salaries  for  better  teachers. 

—  Per  capita.  —  Assessed  valuation  and  rate  of  taxation.  — 
Salary    list.  —  Small    schools    in    one    county.  —  Financial 

phase  fundamental 226-239 

CHAPTER   XII 

CONSOLIDATION 

Some  preliminaries.  —  First  stage.  —  Consolidation  not 
to  cheapen.  —  Views  of  Honorable  Henry  Sabin.  —  Progress 
of  consolidation.  — -  Indiana.  —  Ohio  visit.  —  Illinois.  —  Art 
at  Seward  School. —  High-school  possibilities.  —  Advan- 
tages and  objections  —  Transportation.  —  Assistant  Secre- 
tary Hays  on  course  of  study.  —  What  claim?  —  Summary 
of  Superintendent  Graham's  bulletins 240-281 

CHAPTER   XIII 

THE   TRAINING   OF  TEACHERS   FOR  COUNTRY   SCHOOLS 

Spirit  of  criticism.  —  Fitting  teachers  to  teach.  —  Country- 
school  conditions  not  fully  recognized.  —  Superintendent  Gil- 
bert on  course  of  study.  —  Department  for  country  schools. 

—  Normal  scholarships  in  Illinois.  —  High  school  at  the  nor- 
mal school.  —  Country-school  programmes.  —  Model  country 
school  with  Indiana  State  Normal  School.  —  Charman's  re- 
port on  work.  —  Illinois  making  a  start.  — Wisconsin  county 
training  schools.  —  Work  in  Dunn  County. — Work  at  New 

Paltz,  New  York.  —  Bibliography.  —  Work  in  Michigan      .  282-308 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XIV 

MANUAL  TRAINING  IN   THE   COUNTRY   SCHOOL 

Pages 

Manual  training  and  manual  labor.  —  Table  showing 
number  of  pupils  in  each  grade.  —  Progress  in  manual 
training  in  country  schools  will  be  slow. —  Opportunity  for 
the  school  to  cooperate  with  the  home.  —  Account  of  Cot- 
tage Hill  School.  —  The  work  in  Hancock  County,  Georgia. 
—  Manual  training  in  state  normal  schools.  —  Report  of 
Committee  on  Manual  Training  for  Rural  Schools  to  the  Illi- 
nois Manual  Arts  Association.  —  Work  in  Mower  County, 
Minnesota.  —  Mr.  Harvey  G.  Hatch's  work  in  Winnebago 
County,  Illinois.  —  Possible  kinds  of  hand  work.  —  Refer- 
ence list 309-341 


CHAPTER   XV 

A   LAST   WORD 

Not  a  final  word.  —  The  University  of  Illinois  and  the 
country  school.  —  Resolutions  at  special  conference.  —  For- 
ward step  in  Wisconsin.  —  Educational  campaigns.  — Work 
of  the  School  Improvement  League  of  Maine.  —  Progress 
in  West  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Missouri,  Min- 
nesota, Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Massachusetts,  and  other 
states.  —  The  last  word 342-366 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Fig. 

1.  An  Old  New  England  Schoolhouse Frontispiece 

Page 

2.  A  Two-Row  Corn  Cultivator i 

3.  A  New  Country  Road 3 

4.  A  New  Means  of  Communication  for  the  Farm 4 

5.  A  Steam  Roller  and  a  Road  Scraper 5 

6.  A  Farm  Scene 7 

7.  A  Country  Road 10 

8.  A  Country  Schoolhouse 11 

9.  His  First  Day 13 

ID.  Among  the  Oaks 16 

11.  Among  the  Oaks 17 

12.  An  Old  Schoolhouse  in  Winnebago  County,  Illinois 18 

13.  A  New  Schoolhouse  in  Winnebago  County,  Illinois 19 

14.  Crab  Apple  Blossoms  beside  a  Country  Brook 21 

15.  Where  the  Water  Lilies  Grow 23 

16.  A  Country  Road 25 

17.  A  New  Schoolhouse  with  Trees 26 

18.  Work  in  the  New  Schoolhouse 27 

19.  Down  on  the  River 29 

20.  An  Old  Schoolhouse 30 

21.  A  New  Schoolhouse 31 

22.  Noble  Elms  spared  by  the  Telephone  Company 34 

23.  Trees  should  go  with  the  Flag 35 

24.  The  Four  Oaks 37 

25.  A  Real  Playground 38 

26.  Standing  by  their  Colors 39 

27.  A  Shrubbery  Detail 41 

28.  The  Treeless  School  Grounds 42 

29.  W^hy  not  on  the  School  Ground  ? 43 

30.  Treatment  of  Outbuildings 45 

31.  Treatment  of  Outbuildings 46 

32.  Improving  Grounds  of  Consolidated  School 47 

33.  Vines  on  the  Schoolhouse ....  49 

34.  At  the  Well 50 

35.  A    Design   for   the    Improvements   and   Planting   of    the    Seward 

School  Grounds between  50  and  51 

36.  A  Row  of  Hard  Maples 52 

37.  The  Results  of  Tree  Planting 54 

38.  Where  the  Wild  Crab  Apple,  Plum,  etc.,  are  Saved 55 

39.  A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  {1903) 57 

40.  A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1903) 59 


xvi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Fig.  Page 

41.  A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1903) 61 

42.  A  School  Garden  at  Home  (1904) 63 

43.  A  School  Garden  at  the  Seward  Consolidated  School  (1904)  .     .  65 

44.  A  Desolate  Schoolhouse 6S 

45.  A  Farm  Home  near  the  Desolate  Schoolhouse 69 

46.  A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1905) 70 

47.  A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1905) 74 

48.  A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1905) 76 

49.  Outline  Plan  of  a  Macdonald  School  Garden,  Bowesville,  Ontario, 

Canada 77 

50.  A  Model  for  a  Country  School 79 

51.  Another  Model  for  a  Country  School 81 

52.  Trees  set  out  in  1905 83 

53.  Nature  Study 84 

54.  A  Stove  Jacket 87 

55.  A  Water  Tank 89 

56.  Studying  a  Traveling  Art  Exhibit 91 

57.  An  Improved  Interior 93 

58.  Pictures  and  Books 95 

59.  A  Room  in  the  Seward  Consolidated  School 98 

60.  A  Room  in  the  Seward  Consolidated  School 99 

61.  A  Room  in  the  Seward  Consolidated  School loi 

62.  A  Country-School  Library 105 

63.  Library  Case  and  Reading  Table loS 

64.  Traveling  Libraries  for  Countiy  Schools  :  Plan  of  Disinfection    .  112 

65.  The  Winnebago  County  Board  of  Supervisors 122 

66.  Some  Prize  Winners,  Members  of  the  Winnebago  County  Farmer 

Boys'  Experiment  Club 131 

67.  A  Prize  Winner,  Eleven  Years  Old 132 

68.  A  Prize  Winner,  Twelve  Years  Old 133 

69.  With  High-Bred  Corn 135 

70.  With  High-Bred  Corn 136 

71.  A  Sugar-Beet  Grower 137 

72.  Sugar-Beet  Growers 138 

73.  Brother  and  Sister  among  their  Beets 141 

74.  This   Boy  Hopes   Soon   to  Take  a  Course  at   an   Agricultural 

College 142 

75.  Some  High-Bred  Corn 147 

76.  Bottles  showing  Chemical  Analysis  of  Corn 147 

77.  Testing  the  Germination  of  Corn  with  Plates  of  Sand     .     .     .     .  151 

78.  Some   Prize   Winners  of  the  Winnebago  County  Girls'  Home 

Culture  Club 152 

79.  The  Excursion  of  Winnebagoes  (1903)  in  front  of  the  College  of 

Agriculture,  University  of  Illinois 158 

80.  The  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture 159 

81.  The  Cattle  Barn,  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture 161 

82.  Looking  at  the  Live  Stock,  Ames  (Iowa)  Experiment  Station     .  165 

83.  At  the  Oats  Breeding  Plots,  Ames,  Iowa 167 

84.  Inspecting  Alfalfa  at  Ames,  Iowa 168 

85.  The  F'amous  "Blue  Grays"  on  Experiment  Farm,  Ames,  Iowa  .  169 

86.  Winnebagoes  "on  the  Trail"  to  Madison,  Wisconsin,  June,  1905  171 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xvii 

Page 

The  Arrival  at  Madison :  in  Front  of  the  New  College  of  Agri- 
culture, University  of  Wisconsin 173 

Country  Children  in  School 176 

A  Boy  at  his  Desk  in  an  Old- Fashioned  Country  School  .     .     .  179 

Country  Children  in  School 181 

The  Boys'  Session  of  the  Winnebago  County  Farrr.ers'  Institute, 

1904 183 

A  Subject  for  Consideration  at  the  Farmers'  Institute  ....  186 

A  Subject  for  Consideration  at  the  Farmers'  Institute  ....  187 

Studying  Corn 189 

Studying  Corn 192 

Pure-Bred  Cattle 193 

Studies  in  Corn 193 

A  Cross  Section  of  a  Kernel  of  Corn 196 

The  Cooking  Class,  Macdonald  Consolidated  School,  Middle- 
ton,  Nova  Scotia,  Canada 199 

Root  Growth  of  Corn  at  Time  of  Tasseling 200 

Corn  and  Soy  Beans  on  Experiment  Field,  Winnebago  County, 

Illinois 203 

Soy  Beans  on  Experiment  Field,  Winnebago  County,  Illinois     .  205 
A  Traveling  Library  for  District  Schools  :  Works  on  Agriculture 

and  Country  Life 209 

An  Exhibit  of  Corn  and  Oats  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition      .     .  214 

A  Little  Literary  Man  studying  Corn 217 

The  Teacher's  Corner  in  an  OldFashioned  Country  Schoolhouse  221 

A  Type  of  Small  School  in  Winnebago  County,  Illinois    .     .     .  227 

Another  Typical  Country  Schoolhouse 233 

The   First   Consolidated    School    Building  in    Illinois :    Seward 

Township,  Winnebago  County 240 

The  Buildings  abandoned  for  the  Consolidated  School      .     .     .  241 

Transportation  in  Indiana 244 

Transportation  in  Indiana 245 

Going   Home   from   School    in   Illinois :    Temperature   Twelve 

Degrees  below  Zero 246 

The  New  Way  in  Ohio 247 

A  Centralized  Country-School  Building,  Green  Township,  Trum- 
bull County,  Ohio 252 

School   Building   at   Kingsville,   Ohio,  where   Centralization  of 

Schools  began  in  1892 253 

A  Map  of  Ohio  showing  Centralized  Schools,  1905 256 

A  Map  of  Wayne  Township,  Clinton  County,  Ohio.  1905       .     .  258 
Transportation  Routes,  Gustavus  Township,  Trumbull  County, 

Ohio 259 

The    Centralized    School    at    Gustavus    Township,    Trumbull 

County,  Ohio 261 

The    Centralized    School    at    Lee's    Creek,  Wayne   Township, 

Clinton  County,  Ohio 263 

An  Abandoned  Two-Story  Brick  Schoolhouse  in  Wayne  Town- 
ship, Clinton  County,  Ohio 264 

Abandoned    One-Room     Schoolhouse     in     Wayne     Township, 

Clinton  County,  Ohio 267 


xviii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Fig.  Page 

24.  An  Old  Schoolhouse  at  Snow  Hill,  Hancock  County,  Georgia  .  268 

25.  A  New  Schoolhouse  at  Snow  Hill,  Hancock  County,  Georgia   .  270 

26.  An  Old  Academy  at  Snow  Hill,  Hancock  County,  Georgia    .     .  271 

27.  New  Schoolhouse  at  Snow  Hill,  Hancock  County,  Georgia  .     .  273 

28.  Old  Schoolhouse,  No.  2,  at  Williamsburg,  North  Carolina     .     .  275 

29.  Old  Schoolhouse,  No.  3,  at  Williamsburg,  North  Carolina     .     .  277 

30.  New  Building  for  Nos.  2  and  3  Consolidated,  Williamsburg, 

North  Carolina 278 

31.  The  Interior  of  Schoolhouse,  District  99,  Winnebago  County, 

Illinois 279 

32.  The  Wisconsin  Training  School  at  Menomonie 285 

;^2-  A  Model  Country  School  connected  with  the  Indiana  State  Nor- 
mal School 291 

34.  An  Interior  View  of  the  Model  Country  School  connected  with 

the  Indiana  State  Normal  School 295 

35.  Teachers'  Training  School  at  Menomonie,  Wisconsin   ....  299 

36.  Teacher  and  Pupils  in  a  Rural  School  in  Dunn  County,  Wisconsin  305 

37.  The   Beginning  of  Manual    Training  in   a  Country  School  of 

Winnebago  County,  Illinois 310 

38.  Manual  Training  in  a  Winnebago  County  District  School      .     .  311 

39.  Manual  Training  Products  in  Cottage  Hill  School,  near  Spring- 

field, Illinois 314 

40.  The  Workshop  of  Cottage  Hill  School.    Workbenches  used  for 

Lunch  Counters 315 

41.  Articles  made  in  a  Rural  School  in  Dunn  County,  Wisconsin    .  318 

42.  The  Manual  Training  Class  at  Work  in  a  Rural  School  in  Edgar 

County,  Illinois 319 

43.  Plan  of  Workbench  for  Countiy  Schools 323 

44.  Plan  of  Tool  Rack  to  accompany  Workbench 325 

45.  Manual  Training  in  a  Country  School  of  Winnebago  County, 

Illinois 328 

46.  Manual  Training  in  a  Country  School  of  Winnebago  County, 

Illinois 329 

47.  Winnebago  County  Teachers  doing  Tool  Work  at  the  March 

(1906)  Annual  Teachers'  Institute 233 

48.  A  House  constructed  by  Grammar-School  Boys,  to  be  furnished 

by  the  Children  of  the  Primary. Grades 335 

49.  Learning  to  Cook.     Manual  Training  for  Girls 336 

50.  Macdonald    Consolidated    School,    Guelph,    Ontario,    Canada. 

Manual  Training  Room 337 

51.  A  Schoolhouse  built  in  the  Early  Fifties 344 

52.  Bare  and  Uninviting 350 

53.  Pleasant  to  Look  Upon 353 

54.  Such  a  Tree  as  this  Ought  to  be  in  Every  School  Yard     .     .     .  356 


AMONG   COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


CHAPTER  I 

THE    NEW   COUNTRY   LIFE 

Truly  this  is  a  new  age  for  country  life.  In  a  material 
way  this  truth  seems  to  need  no  proof.  The  self-binder 
and  the  cream  separator  are  tangible  things,  labor-saving 
and  profitable.     High-bred   varieties   of   grains   and   fruits 


i'K; 


-V    1  wo- Row  Corn  Culiivator 


are  grown  with  marvelous  results  ;  while  the  facilities  for 
quick  communication  in  the  use  of  the  telephone,  in  the 
daily  delivery  of  mail,  and  in  the  trolley  line  put  the  farm 
in  close  touch  with  the  whole  world. 


i         AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

The  past  quarter  of  a  century  has  witnessed  a  great 
development  in  all  things  relating  to  the  farm.  The  story 
seems  too  marvelous  to  believe.  The  Illinois  country  lad 
who,  in  the  centennial  year  of  1876,  plowed  corn  and 
bound  grain  by  hand  in  the  hot  July  sun  little  dreamed 
of  the  conquests  to  be  made  in  the  domain  of  agriculture. 
When,  as  a  city  man,  in  1904  he  helped  to  observe  another 
centennial  of  the  beginning  of  our  national  expansion,  by 
attending  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  the  Palace 
of  Agriculture  told  him  the  new  story.  Invention  has  done 
much  to  lighten  the  burden  of  the  farmer  and  to  make 
his  efforts  more  remunerative  by  furnishing  the  right  kind 
of  machinery.  The  exhibits  told  the  story  of  labor-saving 
machinery.  As  a  country  boy,  husking  corn  during  the 
frosts  of  November,  he  thought  not  of  selection  and 
breeding  of  com.  As  a  man,  standing  before  the  exhibit 
of  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  in  the  Palace  of  Agri- 
culture at  St.  Louis,  he  saw  the  results  of  seven  years 
of  patient,  careful  work  in  the  development  of  high-bred 
com.    Science  at  last  is  working  for  and  with  the  farmer. 

As  a  boy,  plowing  the  rich  soil  of  central  Illinois,  little 
thought  had  he  about  soil  fertility.  To  him,  as  a  man, 
comes  the  soil-survey  bulletin  with  county  map  showing 
types  of  soil  in  areas  as  small  as  ten-acre  lots.  Inocula- 
tion of  soil  with  bacteria  for  certain  fertility-restoring 
crops  seems  a  fairy  tale.  And  all  this  in  the  short  space 
of  twenty-five  years. 

No  less  significant  are  the  new  methods  of  communica- 
tion in  bringing  a  different  spirit  to  country  life.  No 
longer  is  the  farmer  compelled  to  roam  over  half  a  town- 
ship in  his  efforts  to  secure  extra  help  for  his  threshing  or 
harvesting.   A  few  minutes  at  the  telephone  arrange  all  the 


THE  NEW  COUNTRY  LIFE 


details  for  "  swapping  work."  Or  it  may  be  that  the  binder 
or  mower  has  broken  down  right  in  the  midst  of  a  very 
busy  time.  The  old  way  was  to  leave  the  machine  in  the 
field  and  let  the  hired  help  loaf  around,  while  the  farmer 
hitched  up  and  drove  several  miles  for  the  needed  repairs, 
and   then  perhaps   had   to   telegraph   to  the  factory   in   a 


Fu 


A  New  L 


distant  city.  The  loss  of  a  few  hours  meant  the  loss  of 
several  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  golden  grain  if  the 
weather  was  bad.  To-day  the  long-distance  phone  in 
three  minutes  calls  up  supply  house  or  factory ;  the 
needed  machinery  is  sent  out  by  the  night  express,  and 
the  early  morning  trolley  car  brings  the  needed  relief  to 
the  farmer's  door  ready  for  the  beginning  of  a  new  day's 
work.    The  average  farmer  is  quick  to  take  advantage  of 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 
4 

all  this  because  there  is  money  in  it.  But  how  about  the 
improvement  of  the  country  school  ?  Has  it  kept  pace  with 
this  material  progress  ?    Is  there  money  in  that  also  ? 

In  1876  the  country  lad,  who  dreamed  not  of  telephones, 
self-binders,  corn  with  a  high  percentage  of  protein,  alfalfa 
bacteria,  or  the  coreless  apple,  made  his  weekly  journey 
Saturday  afternoons  to  the  country  store  for  the  mail.  Per- 
haps there  was  a  letter  from  the  folks  back  in  Indiana.  Cer- 
tainly there  was  a  weekly  paper  or  two;  if  only  one,  it  was  a 
party  organ  of  the  same  political  faith  as  that  of  the  boy's 


Fig.  4.   A  New  Means  of  Communication  for  the  Farm 

father.  From  such  sources  the  boy  read  the  news  a  week 
old  and  incidentally  found  out  that  all  the  wisdom  and  patri- 
otic virtue  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  free  institutions 
was  found  in  one  party  only.  The  weekly  religious  paper 
applied  the  same  narrowing  policy  to  its  particular  field. 

To-day  how  different !  For  years  the  government  at 
national  expense  had  been  delivering  mail  to  the  city 
people,  but  now  the  farmer  has  his  daily  mail  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  same  government.  News  a  week  old,  with 
market  quotations  as  ancient,  does  not  satisfy  the  farmer 
to-day.    He  demands  the  great  metropolitan  daily,  and  the 


THE  NEW  COUNTRY  LIFE  5 

post-office  department  delivers  it  to  him  by  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  He  wants  to  know  what  was  doing  last  night  at 
Port  Arthur,  yesterday's  total  receipts  and  top  prices  for 
live  stock  in  Chicago,  or  the  attitude  of  patriots  in  legisla- 
tive halls  towards  election  reforms  or  railway  rate  regula- 
tions. Strange  to  say,  many  farmers  fought  against  all  these 
innovations  in  the  way  of  quick  methods  of  communication, 


1 :- 

^ 

i  i 

pi**'  "" 

""■■'-'•'" 

Fig.  5.    A  Steam  Roller  and  a  Road  Scraper 

urging  that  the  daily  delivery  of  mail  would  increase  taxes 
and  that  the  mail  boxes  would  be  robbed  by  bad  boys  ;  that 
the  trolley  car  going  across  the  fields  would  shade  the 
corn  too  much  and  that  the  yield  per  acre  would  thus  be 
decreased.  But  they  survived  the  change  and  prospered 
under  it.  They  recognize  the  material  benefits,  and  further 
changes  will  not  be  so  difficult  to  accomplish. 

But  how  about  the  children  in  the  district  school,  without 
maps  or  necessary  apparatus,  and  with  text-books  in  history 


6         AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

and  geography  copyrighted  in  1883  and  the  same  book 
which  has  been  in  almost  constant  use  by  various  members 
of  the  family  since  1893  ?  !«  the  telephone,  daily  mail,  or 
trolley  line  to  touch  only  the  financial  or  social  interests 
of  the  farmer  ?    Are  these  his  only  interests  ? 

Things  spiritual  as  well  as  material  make  us  conscious 
of  the  new  country  life.  The  spiritualization  of  country 
life  now  going  on  requires  closer  study  to  catch  its  full 
significance  than  does  a  survey  of  farm  machinery  or 
growing  crops.  The  farm  home  is  no  longer  isolated. 
Newer  and  better  comforts  of  life  are  coming  to  the 
country  home.  Music,  magazines,  high-grade  literature, 
are  creating  better  ideals  of  living.  The  improved  mate- 
rial conditions  of  the  American  farmer  make  possible  a 
richer  life  for  the  American  country  home.  We  have 
passed  from  the  period  of  settling  the  country  into  that 
of  settling  down  in  the  same  country,  and  he  who  would 
attempt  to  create  a  new  educational  ideal  with  reference  to 
the  district  school  must,  if  possible,  be  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  the  new  life  that  is  unfolding.  The  significance 
of  this  change  is  thus  expressed  in  a  recent  editorial  in 
The  World's  Work. 

In  a  sense  we  have  settled  the  country;  and  nowwe  are  beginning  to 
settle  down.  We  are  reaching  a  period  of  an  equilibrium  of  opportunity. 

This  large  fact  explains  many  changes  in  the  direction  of  our 
activities,  and  a  corresponding  change  that  is  taking  place  in  our 
national  character ;  for  what  we  do  makes  us  what  we  are.  It  is  a 
key  to  the  larger  tendencies  in  present  American  life. 

The  difference  between  a  period  of  settling  and  a  period  of  settling 
down  is  the  difference  between  adventure  and  development.  It  is 
expressing  itself  in  a  hundred  ways,  —  in  intensive  instead  of  exten- 
sive farming,  in  the  concentration  of  industry  instead  of  duplicating 
it,  in  building  better  homes  instead  of  seeking  other  homes,  in  doing 


THE  NEW  COUxNTRV  LIFE  7 

the  jobs  we  have  in  hand  better  rather  than  seeking  other  jobs.  All 
this  means  greater  efificiency.  It  means  sticking  closer  to  business. 
It  has  much  to  do  with  the  production  of  great  wealth,  which  makes 
the  last  decade  a  period  in  our  history  which  stands  out  by  itself.  It  has 
much  to  do  with  the  great  movements  to  consolidate  industry.  It 
brings  us  back  to  all  kinds  of  home  problems,  —  to  the  proper  building 
and  government  of  our  cities  and  to  the  almost  universal  tendency  to 
improve  country'  life. 

Now  this  improvement  in  country  life  is  manifested  in 
better  homes  and  barns,  better  roads,  and  the  substitution 
of  the  carriage  for  the  old  lumber  wasron  for  church  and 


Fig.  6.    A  Farm  Scene 

social  visits.  The  increasing  use  of  flowers,  trees,  and 
shrubbery  around  the  country  home  tells  of  the  growth  of 
a  love  for  the  beautiful  in  country  life.  The  great  farmers' 
institute  movement  is  contributing  to  the  intellectual  growth 
in  country  life.  Has  the  improvement  of  the  country  school 
kept  pace  with  other  things  .?  If  so,  why  are  so  many  peo- 
ple leaving  the  farm  and  moving  to  the  cities  to  educate 
their  children  .?  Would  good  schools  out  in  the  fields  help 
the  movement  back  to  the  country  ?  Is  it  desirable  that 
people  continue  to  drift  to  the  great  centers  of  population  } 
Why  are  the  country  schools  so  small,  and  where  are  the 
people  ? 


8         AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

According  to  the  United  States  census  reports  the  pop- 
lation  of  Winnebago  County,  UUnois,  inckiding  the  city  of 
Rockford,  increased  19.7  per  cent  in  ten  years,  the  popu- 
lation in  1890  being  only  39,938,  while  in  1900  it  reached 

47.845- 

The  following  table  gives  the  population  of  each  civil 
unit  in  the  county.  The  civil  units  outside  of  the  city  of 
Rockford  are  properly  called  "towns,"  though  many  call 
them  "  townships."  The  report  shows  how  in  ten  years 
the  city  of  Rockford  has  increased  in  population,  while  the 
country  communities  have  decreased. 

Census 
1900  1890 

BuTitt 658  733 

Cherry  Valley  (with  village) 1,014  1,105 

Durand  (with  village) 1.256  1,223 

Guilford .  1,042  969 

Harlem 837  695 

Harrison cro  577 

Laona 377  5(5^ 

New  Milford 761  865 

Owen 667  762 

Pecatonica  (with  village) 1,677  1,796 

Rockton  (with  village) 1,361  1,492 

Roscoe  (with  village) 811  894 


Seward 


1,022  960 


Shirland 320  491 

Winnebago  (with  village) 1,216  1,422 

Rockford 2,767  i'6i8 

City  of  Rockford 31,051  23,584 

An  analysis  of  the  above  table  shows  that  ten  county 
towns  had  decreased  in  population,  while  the  city  of  Rock- 
ford had  increased  7467,  or  31.6  per  cent.  The  town  of 
Rockford  shows  an  increase  of  1 149,  but  that  increase  is 
suburban  to  Rockford,  and  a  greater  portion  has  been 
annexed  to  the  city  since  the  federal  census. 


THE  NEW  COUNTRY  LIFE  9 

The  growth  of  the  city  of  Rockford  and  the  country  com- 
munities outside  since  the  organization  of  the  city  and 
county  is  shown  in  the  following  table. 


Winnebago 

City  of 

Winnebago 

City  of 

Year 

County 

Rockford 

Year 

County 

Rockford 

1840   . 

.      .      4,609 

1880   . 

•      •    17,376 

13,129 

1850   . 

.      .      9,680 

2,093 

1890   . 

•      •    16,354 

23,584 

1S60  . 

■      ■    17,512 

6,979 

1900   . 

•      •    16,794 

31,051 

1870   . 

.      .    18,252 

11,049 

The  increase  in  population  for  1900  in  Winnebago  County 
is  because  of  suburban  population,  as  the  city  of  Rockford 
is  included  in  the  town  of  Rockford.  In  truth,  there  has 
been  a  steady  decrease  in  country  population  since  1870. 

I  do  not  offer  a  few  statistics  from  one  county  as  proof 
positive  that  similar  conditions  obtain  in  every  county  in 
the  United  States ;  but  if  small  country  schools  indicate 
a  decrease  in  population,  then  the  reports  of  nearly  every 
state  superintendent  in  the  great  Middle  West  and  in  some 
eastern  states  verify  the  fact.  At  any  rate,  if  any  teacher  is 
interested  in  finding  out  all  she  can  about  her  own  county, 
she  can  ask  the  county  clerk  for  the  United  States  census 
reports  on  file  in  his  office.  A  few  figures  there  of  local 
reference  might  have  as  great  an  educational  value  in  the 
schoolroom  to  country  children  as  the  study  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  fifteen  largest  cities  in  the  world. 

It  is  not  expected  that  every  one  born  in  the  country 
should  remain  in  the  country.  That  would  be  a  serious 
mistake  for  several  reasons.  But  is  there  not  a  tendency 
to  disparage  country  life  and  interests  ? 

The  Right  Honorable  James  Bryce  of  England,  author 
of  T/ie  American  Commonwealth,  visited  America  in  1870, 
in  1883,  and  again  in  1904.    In  the  Outlook  for  March  25, 


L 


lO 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


,905,  appeared  the  first  of  Mr.  Bryce's  two  articles  on 
"America  Revisited."  Both  articles  are  worthy  of  seri- 
ous study  by  every  country  school-teacher.  He  bears 
testimony  that  this  is  a  new  age  for  country  life  in  the 


Fic.  7.    .\  Countiy  Road 

United  States.  In  speaking  of  the  changes  of  a  quarter  of 
a  century,  with  special  reference  to  the  growth  of  manu- 
factures, Mr.  Bryce  writes  as  follows  : 

The  growth  of  manufactures  might  have  been  predicted  half  a 
centur)'  ago,  for  even  then  it  wa.s  known  that  there  were  vast  deposits 
of  coal  and  iron,  that  the  American  people  were  highly  inventive,  and 
that  the  increase  of  population  would  create  a  prodigious  demand  for 
goods.  One  result,  however,  of  the  extension  of  manufactures  may 
not  have  been  so  fully  foreseen.    I  mean  the  change  in  the  character 


THE  NEW  COUNTRY   LIFE 


II 


of  the  occupations  and  dwelling  places  of  the  people.  They  are  ceas- 
ing to  be  a  folk  of  country  dwellers.  It  is  not  only  that  the  great 
cities  extend  themselves  with  amazing  speed,  and  that  many  of  the 
mineral  areas  are  becoming  so  covered  with  villages  as  to  differ  little 
from  cities.  There  is  a  general  disposition  to  migrate  from  rural  dis- 
tricts to  centers  of  population,  where  a  brisker  life  and  more  amuse- 
ments can  be  enjoyed.  The  change  is  all  the  more  remarkable  because 
agriculture  continues  to  be  prosperous.  It  has  been  accelerated  by 
those   applications  of  machinery  to  agricultural  work  which   enable 


Fig.  S.    a  Country  Schcolhouse 

a  farm  to  be  worked  by  a  smaller  staff  than  was  formerlj-  needed. 
Wherever  one  travels  in  the  eastern  and  northern  states  one  sees 
new  towns  rising  along  the  lines  of  railroad  and  the  older  towns  spread- 
ing out.  The  eye  as  well  as  the  census  table  tells  one  that  the  people 
are  becoming  a  people  subject  to  city  influences.  Already,  though  the 
population  which  lives  outside  towns  with  less  than  eight  thousand 
inhabitants  is  numerically  larger  (almost  two  thirds),  still  it  is  urban 
ways  and  habits,  urban  opinion,  urban  tendencies,  that  are  beginning 
to  prevail  in  the  United  States.  This  process  goes  on  steadily.  It 
will  go  on  all  the  faster  because  the  good  land  of  the  Northwest  has 
now  —  so  one  is  told  —  been  practically  all  taken  up,  while  even  the 
irrigation  of  the  dry  lands  of  the  South-Central  West  cannot  redress 
the  balance  by  providing  a  new  rural  population  to  set  against  the 
increase  of  the  cities.    This  is  one  of  the  new  facts  which  strikes  a 


12        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

visitor,  and  especially  an- Englishman.  Thirty-five  years  ago  England 
was  already  a  country  of  city  dwellers,  and  the  United  States  seemed 
by  contrast  a  country  of  agriculturalists.  Before  long  the  United 
States  will  be  like  England,  and,  one  may  almost  add,  like  Germany 
also,  a  land  in  which  the  urban  type  of  mind  and  life  will  preponder- 
ate. The  change  may  be  regrettable.  Jefferson  would  have  regretted 
it.  But  it  is  unavoidable.  It  will  tend  to  increase  that  nervous  strain, 
that  sense  of  tension,  which  Americans  are  already  deemed  to  show 
as  compared  with  the  more  sluggish  races  of  Europe.  There  will  be 
less  repose  than  ever  in  life.  Health  may  not  suffer,  nor  the  death 
rate  increase,  for  cities  can  now  be  made  to  show  as  low  a  mortality 
as  most  country  places.  In  London  we  have  brought  down  the  rate 
since  1870  from  twentj'-three  to  seventeen  per  thousand.  Yet  the  phys- 
ical strength  of  the  average  man  may  not  be  quite  the  same ;  and  his 
mental  constitution  will  almost  certainly  be  different.  It  may  not  be  in- 
ferior,—  indeed,  it  may  be  more  alert  and  versatile ;  but  it  will  be  different. 

Is  the  continued  migration  from  the  country  to  the  city 
unavoidable?  It  is  true  that  about  all  of  the  best  land 
is  taken.  Irrigation  will  increase  the  acreage  available  for 
farming.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  scientific  methods  of 
farming  —  intensive  farming  —  will  make  possible  the  sup- 
port of  a  yet  larger  population  not  urban  in  "  type  of  mind 
and  life."  The  trouble  has  been  that  too  often  the  country 
child  in  his  education  has  been  led  to  believe  that  agricul- 
ture does  not  furnish  sufficient  intellectual  development 
and  financial  success  to  warrant  a  longer  stay  on  the  farm. 
Hence  the  pilgrimage  to  the  city,  where  "a  brisker  life  and 
more  amusements  can  be  enjoyed."  The  influence  of  these 
has  not  always  been  of  the  most  wholesome  character. 
Many  a  boy  has  quit  the  farm,  not  because  of  the  hard 
work  only,  but  because  day  after  day,  month  after  month, 
he  experienced  only  hard  work. 

The  training  in  the  country  school  of  the  future  should 
aim  to  conserve  all  that  is  best  and  richest  in  a  "  type  of 


THE  NEW  COUNTRY  LIFE 


13 


mind  and  life  "  distinctly  country.  The  possibilities  of  intel- 
lectual growth,  literary  culture,  and  social  enjoyment  are  as 
great  —  or  will  be  so — among  the  clover  blossoms  in  the 
field  as  among  the 
flowers  blooming  in  the 
city  park ;  in  raising  high- 
bred corn  as  in  practic- 
ing law  or  selUng  ribbon 
over  a  counter  in  a  large 
department  store. 

I  plead  for  the  spirit- 
ualization  of  country  life. 
Education  must  do  this. 
A  new  educational  ideal 
in  the  country  school 
will  lead  the  boys  and 
girls  to  see  more  of  the 
"  divine  joy  of  living  "  in 
the  country.  These  boys 
and  girls  on  the  farms 
are  the  men  and  women 
of  a  great  to-morrow  in 
country  life  and  in  the 
life  of  the  nation  as  well. 
The  country  school 
should  be  so  organized 
as  to  meet  the  new  con-  ^^''-  9-  "i«  i^'"*^  ^^^y 

ditions  of  life.  It  ought  not  to  be  continually  necessary  for 
country  people  to  desert  the  farm  for  the  city  that  their 
children  may  have  art,  music,  libraries,  lectures,  and  social 
intercourse.  The  proper  organization  and  administration  of 
the  country  schools  will  bring  to  the  farm  all  these  things. 


14        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

These  spiritualizing  influences,  unfettered  in  the  freedom 
of  simple  country  life,  unobstructed  by  the  dissipations  of 
an  artificial,  complex  life  of  a  great  metropolitan  center, 
will  produce  the  choicest  flower  of  our  civilization.  A 
nobler  dignity  will  be  conferred  upon  agriculture.  This 
educational  product  is  the  new  type  of  the  American 
farmer,  a  man  strong  in  his  personal  virtues  and  mighty  in 
his  influence  for  civic  righteousness.  This  is  an  ideal,  but 
it  is  a  practical  ideal.  Already  things  done  encourage  the 
hope  of  realization.  It  is  true  .that  not  much  can  be  done 
with  many  adults.  Their  ideals  are  of  the  past.  The  great 
promise,  the  great  hope,  is  with  country  children. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHILD 

If  I  were  to  formulate  an  educational  creed  for  the 
country  school,  it  would  contain  but  two  articles,  namely: 
(i)  the  country  child  is  entitled  to  every  whit  as  good 
an  educational  opportunity  as  that  enjoyed  by  the  most 
favored  city  child  attending  the  American  public  school; 
(2)  to  secure  this  right  for  the  country  child  the  country 
people  must  expend  more  money  on  the  country  school  and 
expend  it  in  a  better  way. 

I  believe  in  consolidation,  and  my  educational  decalogue 
for  school  officers  and  teachers  may  be  reduced  to  one 
simple  commandment,  namely.  Thou  shalt  enrich  and 
enlarge  the  life  of  the  country  child. 

This  is  a  simple  creed.  It  does  not  claim  that  the  country 
school  shall  be  the  same  kind  of  a  school  as  the  city  school. 
There  is  a  difference  of  environment  that  must  be  con- 
sidered. The  country  school  for  its  specific  work  should 
be  just  as  efficient  as  the  best  city  school  is  for  its  specific 
work.  There  are  certain  fundamentals  that  are  common 
to  both  systems,  and  it  is  the  country  child's  right  to  have 
these  fundamentals  taught  him  without  so  much  educational 
waste.  The  second  article  of  the  creed  recognizes  the  fact 
that  as  a  general  rule  one  cannot  get  something  for  noth- 
ing, while  on  the  educational  commandment  /';/  uno  hang 
all  the  law  and  the  prophets,  so  far  as  patron  and  teacher 
are  concerned  in  their  training  of  the  country  child. 

15 


i6 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


The  last  fifteen  or  twenty  years  have  witnessed  great 
advancement  in  the  educational  interests  of  the  towns  and 
cities.  Large  sums  of  money  have  been  expended  for 
material  equipment  in  the  way  of  better  buildings,  labora- 
tories, libraries,  manual  training,  etc.  Superintendents  and 
teachers  in  cities  have  become  more  efficient  and  are  better 


Fig.  10.    Among  the  Oaks 

paid.  A  strong  effort  has  been  made  to  adjust  the  course 
of  study  to  practical  conditions  of  life.  Business  courses 
have  been  introduced  into  high  schools,  and  the  general 
public  seems  to  manifest  a  deeper  interest  in  the  entire 
educational  machinery.  The  growth  of  towns  and  cities 
has  been  phenomenal,  and  the  resources  of  the  people  have 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHILD         17 


been  taxed  to  the  utmost  at  times  to  provide  every  child 
with  the  best  educational  advantages. 

Many  farmers,  feeling  that  the  country  school  did  not 
furnish  sufficient  training  for  their  children,  have  moved 
to  the  cities  to  be  under 
the  influence  of  better 
schools,  or  have  sent 
their  children  to  board 
in  the  nearest  town. 
Some  have  complained 
that  the  city  school  has 
educated  their^  children 
away  from  the  farm.  A 
moment's  reflection  is 
sufficient  to  show  that 
the  city  school  is  for  the 
city  child,  with  a  course 
of  study  more  or  less 
suited  to  conditions  in 
which  the  city  child  must 
earn  a  living.  It  is  not 
expected  that  a  city  high 
school  will  teach  country 
children  much  about  the 
farm  and  its  interests. 
The  city  child,  who  after 
leaving  school  enters  a 
profession  or  works   in  ^'°- "•  Amo»g  the  Oaks 

the  counting-room,  store,  or  factory,  does  not  need  to  know 
about  the  care  and  composition  of  soil,  rotation  of  crops, 
breeding  and  selection  and  care  of  animals  and  plants,  feed- 
ing standards  for  stock,  etc.     But  the  country  boy,  who 


1 8        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

remains  on  the  farm,  must  know  about  these  things,  if  he 
is  to  be  a  successful  farmer  in  this  new  age  of  scientific 
agriculture;  and  the  country  school  should  help  him  along 
these  lines.  The  educational  uplift,  in  its  fullest  sense, 
cannot  come  to  the  country  child  from  "  three  R's  "  alone. 
These  certainly  need  to  be  better  taught;  but  to  claim 
that  these  alone  are  sufficient  is  a  refusal  to  see  progress. 


Fig.  12.   An  Old  Schoolhouse  in  "Winnebago  County,  Illinois 

As  well  ask  the  farmer  to  make  a  success  of  life  with  the 
machinery  and  methods  of  thirty  years  ago. 

Let  us  give  the  country  school  all  credit  for  the  great 
work  it  has  done.  What  we  desire  for  it  is  that  it  shall 
improve  in  at  least  the  same  ratio  as  the  rest  of  rural  institu- 
tions. It  is  to  do  a  still  greater  work.  What  are  the  most 
efficient  means  to  increase  the  usefulness  of  the  country 
school }  This  is  the  question  that  should  appeal  most 
strongly  to  the  American  farmer.  However  much  we  may 
disagree  as  to  the  ways  and  means,  any  one  who  has  given 
any  serious  study  to  the  country  school  in  all  its  relations 
must  conclude  that  there  is  need  of  increasing  its  usefulness. 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHILD         19 


Yes,  there  is  a  wide  gulf  between  the  alley  of  a  great 
city  and  a  country  lane ;  the  children  loitering  along  each 
have  to  be  reached  in  different  ways.  At  the  meeting  of 
the  Department  of  Superintendence  at  Milwaukee,  Wiscon- 
sin, February,  1905,  Mr.  Ben  Blewett  of  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, very  forcibly  contrasts  the  city  system  with  the 
country  system.  Mr.  Blewett  was  a  member  of  the  Jury  of 
Awards,  Group 
I,  Elementary 
Education,  at 
the  Louisiana 
Purchase  Expo- 
sition. In  his 
paper  at  Mil- 
waukee, on  "Les- 
sons from  the 
United  States 
Exhibit  of  Ele- 
mentary Educa- 
tion," he  speaks 
as  follows,  with 
reference  to  the 
problems  of  the  city  system  of  education,  in  an  effort  to 
secure  the  city  child  in  his  heaven-born  rights. 

The  great  mass  of  humanity  compacts  by  centripetal  force  till  life 
in  its  congested  portions  is  distorted  out  of  all  semblance  to  natural 
health.  A  home  becomes  a  few  square  feet  of  standing  room  in  a 
caravansary,  and  the  child  is  deprived  even  of  the  solace  of  a  neigh- 
bor's cellar  door  for  a  sliding  place  ;  no  refuge  anywhere,  —  the  sky, 
the  far-off  roof  of  an  artificial  canyon  ;  the  earth,  a  floor  of  granite  ;  his 
neighbor,  the  fellow  who  crowds  him. 

This  seems  like  tragedy  to  us  who,  when  children,  looked  through 
clear  air  up  to  the  sun  and  talked  with  fairies  under  sheltering  trees. 


i-'ii^ 


A  >,e\v  v-7Lhooliiuu.sfc;  in  Winnebago 
County,  Illinois 


20        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

How  can  you  educate  into  decent  citizenship  a  child  pent  up  this  way? 
Here  is  a  question  peculiar  to  the  great  city.  And  it  should  be  the 
glory  of  our  profession  that  there  have  been  hearts  that  throbbed  at  the 
pathos  of  it  all,  and  brains  that  joyed  in  contending  with  the  difficulties. 

In  vivid  contrast  to  the  above,  Mr.  Blewett  paints  the 
country-school  problem.    He  says: 

The  condition  of  the  rural  school  is  the  problem  that  involves  the 
welfare  of  more  people  than  any  other.  The  importance  of  this  prob- 
lem lies  both  in  the  number  immediately  affected  and  indirectly  in  the 
potency  of  these  lives  in  giving  character  to  the  nation.  However 
enticing  it  may  be,  the  life  of  the  great  towns  is  artificial  and  mis- 
shapen by  the  pressure  of  the  great  throngs.  In  its  atmosphere  the 
human  forces  are  devitalized  and  dwindle  into  abnormal  weaknesses. 
This  is  so  true  that  the  great  enterprises  of  the  city  are  sustained  only 
by  the  infusion  of  men  who  have  held  plow  handles  or  wielded  the  ax. 

The  old  story  of  the  giant  Antaeus,  like  all  great  myths,  is  but  the 
embodiment  of  a  natural  law.  To  get  his  strength  and  to  hold  his 
strength  the  child  must  touch  his  mother  earth,  must  struggle  with 
the  cold  and  heat,  must  know  how  plants  grow,  must  experience  how 
the  knot  yields  to  the  skillful  wedge,  must  wrestle  with  labors  that  test 
his  endurance,  and  must  feel  the  joy  of  his  own  masterfulness.  The 
demands  of  his  life  develop  in  the  country  boy  a  self-reliance  and  a 
faculty  for  adaptation  which,  though  hidden  under  a  cloak  of  awkward- 
ness, give  him  a  power  not  possessed  by  the  child  who  has  not  had 
this  natural  training.  It  is  from  such  people  that  the  leaders  of  the 
world  come. 

The  great  centers  of  population  act  as  maelstroms  which  gather 
into  their  swirling  rush  all  that  the  outermost  circles  of  their  influence 
can  reach.  To  counteract  this  tendency,  to  hold  the  youth  on  the 
farms,  so  to  organize  his  life  there  that  his  natural  longing  for  social 
intercourse  will  be  satisfied,  — to  accomplish  these  ends  some  of  the 
strongest  efforts  of  our  schoolmasters  are  being  made. 

This  is  what  I  am  pleading  for,  —  the  enlargement  and 
enrichment  of  the  life  of  the  country  child. 

It  is  true  that  many  of  the  leaders  in  finance,  statecraft, 
and  great   mercantile   enterprises   have   come   from    the 


THE   RKiHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHH.D 


21 


countr)'.  This  is  ofttimes  offered  as  an  argument  that  the 
country  school  that  can  produce  such  material  needs  no 
improvement.  But  the  greatness  of  a  Lincoln  or  a  Garfield 
can  hardly  be  attributed  to  the  district  school  alone ;  and 
so  with  many  others  now  holding  responsible  positions. 
They  had  an  educational  training  in  home  duties  on  the 
farm,  and  possibly  they  could  have  made  a  success  in  life 


JI&^1 

Ikifea.    ?-"*». 

"3 

1*. 

H|^s^'"' 

'-^^. 

'^!^S 

^^^Ekr'  ^ 

,(^wffl 

'"'^''^.^:j^i^ 

W^m 

i'^^'^sri 

r---v 

m^m 

^^te 

^kWM^i'  - 

m^' 

v'^ 

■  .# 

bb^^ 

l^,^iJ4^-  • 

V 

v> 

-^^' 

: •'  •"  V  .«i 

,   ^ 

Fig.  14.    Crab  Apple  Blossoms  beside  a  Country  Brook 

in  spite  of  schools.  We  pick  out  the  half-dozen  boys  in 
a  county,  perhaps,  who  have  become  famous.  But  how 
about  the  great  number  unheard  of  in  after  life  .''  Did  they 
play  their  part  well  in  the  struggle  1  Did  they  enjoy  their 
rights  as  children  in  the  country  schools  ?  Besides,  the 
general  level  of  intelligence  has  been  raised  since  the  boy- 
hood of  the  man  from  the  farm,  now  either  a  merchant 
prince  or  a  learned  jurist  in  a  great  city.    The  competition 


22        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

is  keener  ;  new  conditions  obtain;  a  new  industrial  age  pre- 
sents problems  whose  solution  will  test  fully  the  stability 
of  our  free  institutions.  Hence  the  boy  who  leaves  the 
country  school  for  the  city  must  be  much  better  prepared 
than  the  boy  of  thirty  years  ago. 

But  perhaps  we  should  not  be  overanxious  about  the  five 
or  ten  per  cent  who  doubtless  will  succeed  in  spite  of  any 
or  all  schools.  Our  chief  concern  in  this  new  age  should 
be  to  secure  an  equality  of  educational  opportunity  for  the 
great  mass  of  country  children  who  get  no  other  train- 
ing for  life's  duties,  so  far  as  books  are  concerned,  than 
that  acquired  in  a  miserable  building  with  bleak,  unkempt 
grounds,  with  no  library  or  necessary  educational  equip- 
ment, with  a  short  school  year  of  four  or  five  months,  and 
all  in  charge  of  an  untrained,  underpaid  teacher.  This 
picture  is  not  overdrawn,  but  I  do  not  wish  to  dwell  on  its 
dark  side.  My  belief  has  been  that  to  help  along  an  insti- 
tution or  an  individual  that  needs  help  is  to  select  the  good 
qualities  and  to  magnify  them  in  order  to  show  how  the 
reform  may  be  effected.  While  this  is  true,  yet  let  us  not 
be  carried  away  with  the  soulful  eloquence  of  the  patriot 
who  on  stated  occasions  tells  us  that  the  public  school  is 
the  safety  of  our  republic,  —  or  words  to  that  effect,  —  and 
that  the  teacher  is  doing  priceless  service  to  the  country. 
To  be  sure,  this  service  is  almost  without  price,  reaching 
as  low  as  ^28  per  month  for  four  months  of  the  year.  The 
lowest  salary  paid  a  janitor  by  the  city  of  Rockford  is  $320 
per  year  for  taking  care  of  a  four-room  school  building. 

The  country  child  has  rights.  He  is  entitled  to  a  square 
deal  in  opportunities  to  enjoy  the  best  that  the  civilization 
of  the  world  thus  far  has  produced.  To  him  should  come 
art,  music,  and  literature.  Millionaires  are  founding  libraries 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHILD 


23 


and  art  galleries  for  city  children,  but  who  is  doing  a  like 
service  for  the  children  living  in  the  fields  ?  True,  a  poem, 
a  picture,  or  a  song,  as  an  educational  agent,  is  likely  to 
be  regarded  as  a  fad  by  the  man  whose  mind  for  the  last 
thirty  years  has  run  chiefly  to  corn  and  hogs.  Such  a  man 
thinks  that  there  is  no  use  in  putting  a  five-thousand-dollar 
education  on  a  fifty- 
cent  boy.  As  a  plain 
business  proposi- 
tion there  is  no  use 
in  wasting  so  much 
good  money  on  such 
an  insignificant 
thing.  But  this  kind 
of  man  is  more  likely 
to  give  a  fifty-cent 
education  to  a  five- 
thousand-dollar  boy, 
—  a  ten- thousand - 
dollar  boy,  perhaps, 
in  possibilities. 
With  charity  for 
such  a  father,  let  us 
do  the  best  we  can  for  his  children  as  God  gives  us  the 
ability  to  see  the  best. 

More  than  all  else,  the  country  child  has  a  right  to  that 
inspirational  leadership  which  can  come  only  from  the  gen- 
uine teacher.  At  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  was  given 
an  educational  creed  of  two  articles,  acceptable,  I  trust,  to 
country  patrons,  school  officers,  and  teachers.  Following  is 
a  "  Teacher's  Creed  "  that  is  worth  quoting. 


^.^ 

nn 

Hi 

H 

^1 

^^^p^^^i 

^^StM^^mBSB^ii^^i^' 

K.'.  .r        -<^  ^  '^^^1 

^■^|M 

BinHH 

H^HH 

PHBHHf^ 

^^HH 

^^^R 

^^^^pp^l^^ 

^^^p 

^^^^g^^^^^»j 

^^^^ 

jj^Hi^^^P 

"^^^  j^^^jgj^g^!^ 

^iiCTj^^^^ 

^^^^^K^E^^^' 

^^M 

Fig.  i;.    Where  the  Water  Lilies  Grow 


24        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


A  Teacher's  Creed 

I  believe  in  boys  and  girls,  the  men  and  women  of  a  great 
to-morrow ;  that  whatsoever  the  boy  soweth  the  man  shall  reap.  I 
believe  in  the  curse  of  ignorance,  in  the  efficacy  of  schools,  in  the 
dignity  of  teaching,  and  in  the  joy  of  serving  another.  I  beheve  in 
wisdom  as  revealed  in  human  lives,  as  well  as  in  the  pages  of  a  printed 
book;  in  lessons  taught  not  so  much  by  precept  as  by  example;  in 
ability  to  work  with  the  hands  as  well  as  to  think  with  the  head;  in 
everything  that  makes  life  large  and  lovely.  I  believe  in  beauty  in  the 
schoolroom,  in  the  home,  in  daily  life,  and  out  of  doors.  I  believe  in 
laughter,  in  love,  in  all  ideals  and  distant  hopes  that  lure  us  on.  I 
believe  that  every  hour  of  every  day  we  receive  a  just  reward  for  all 
we  are  and  all  we  do.  I  believe  in  the  present  and  its  opportunities,  in 
the  future  and  its  promises,  and  in  the  divine  joy  of  living.    Amen. 

Edwin  Osgood  Grover 


There  are  seven  "I  believes"  in  the  above,  and  the 
credo  seems  complete.  It  seems  to  me  that  nothing  should 
be  added  or  taken  away.  A  teacher  believing  and  living 
such  a  creed  in  the  country  school  will  be  an  inspirational 
force  to  country  children.  The  country  school  needs  more 
of  wisdom  in  human  lives.  Too  often  the  wisdom  as  re- 
vealed in  what  men  have  said  or  done  in  the  past,  as  recorded 
on  the  printed  page,  is  considered  the  only  educational 
material  worth  while.  Such  a  teacher  will  teach  by  example 
the  true  dignity  of  "work  with  the  hands,"  and  banish  the 
false  idea  that  an  education  will  somehow  enable  one  to 
get  a  living  without  work. 

A  teacher  living  this  creed  will  teach  her  children  to  see 
and  appreciate  the  wondrous  beauty  of  country  life,  —  the 
country  road,  the  cluster  of  oak  trees,  the  clover  field,  the 
trailing  wild  grapevine,  the  wild  flowers,  the  wild  crab  tree, 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHILD 


25 


and  the  babbling  brook.  She  will  help  to  spiritualize 
country  thought  and  life,  for  she  believes  "  in  beauty  in 
the  schoolroom,  in  the  home,  in  daily  life,  and  out  of  doors." 
Such  a  teacher  cannot  be  content  with  merely  drawing  her 
salary  while  the  schoolhouse  and  grounds  remain  cheer- 
less and  desolate.  In  some  way  the  forces  of  the  district 
will  be  organized  for  better  things.  The  parents  will  be 
reached  through  the  children,  for  the  teacher  believes  "  in 
all  ideals  and  distant  hopes  that  lure  us  on."     Her  salary  is 


Fig.  16.    A  Country  Road 


what.'*  you  ask.  I  do  not  know.  She  belongs  to  that  small 
class  of  public  servants  who  earn  a  great  deal  more  than 
they  receive.  It  may  be  that  in  lives  transformed  by  her 
influence  is  a  compensation  greater  than  gold.  At  any 
rate,  in  "the  joy  of  serving  another"  there  comes  the 
hourly  "  reward  for  all  we  are  and  all  we  do."  If  every 
country  school-teacher  in  the  United  States  could  only 
grasp  the  true  significance  of  present  conditions  and  future 


26        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

possibilities  of  the  country  school,  could  have  faith  in  the 
inspirational  power  of  a  life  illumined  with  "  the  divine  joy 
of  living,"— in  short,  if  every  country  school-teacher  would 
actually  live  the  above  creed  for  five  years,  the  nation  would 
witness  the  greatest  change  ever  wrought  in  the  history  of 
the  American  public  school. 

For  the  last  twenty  years  the  interests  of  the  city  school 
have  held  the  center  of  the  stage.    The  deliberations  of 


Fig.  17.    A  New  Schoolhouse  with    Trees 

educational  gatherings  have  been  almost  exclusively  con- 
fined to  the  consideration  of  problems  of  organization  and 
management  of  educational  systems  in  great  centers  of 
population.  The  reason  for  this  seeming  neglect  of  the 
country  school  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  tremendous  growth 
of  the  population  in  our  cities,  due  in  part  to  unrestricted 
immigration,  made  the  problem  of  caring  for  these  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  children  in  these  cities  the  most  pressing 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHILI) 


27 


problem  of  the  hour.  It  was  natural,  then,  that  our  efforts 
should  be  directed  citywards  instead  of  countrywards. 
Now  that  we  have  made  progress  in  the  solution,  and  are 
witnessing  a  remarkable  reaction  in  favor  of  country  life, 
due  to  increased  ease  of  transportation  and  communication, 
the  country-school  problem  is  the  one  of  prime  importance. 
Until  recently  one  might  gcan  in  vain  any  programme  of 
a  teachers'  association  for  a  "  country-school  section  "  or  a 
discussion  of  some  phase  of  the  country-school  problem. 
There  are  still 
many  good  peo- 
ple who  believe 
that  all  wisdom 
will  die  with  the 
city-school  man. 
It  may  be  that 
the  country- 
school  man  is  to 
blame  for  the 
neglect  of  this 
most  important 
part  of  the  edu- 
cational field, 

namely,  the  country  school.  Is  there  any  considerable  num- 
ber of  children  attending  the  country  schools,  —  enough,  at 
least,  to  make  it  worth  while  to  consider  them  for  an  hour 
or  so  during  a  three  days'  meeting  of  a  great  state  teachers' 
association;  or  to  be  considered  worthy  of  a  column  in  a 
school  journal;  or  important  enough  for  a  two-line  notice 
in  the  press  dispatch  .?  Let  us  see.  In  Illinois  a  graded 
school  is  one  employing  two  teachers  or  more,  while  an 
ungraded  school  is  a  one-teacher  school.    According  to  State 


Fig.  18.    Work  in  the  New  Si  hoolhouse 


28        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Superintendent  Bayliss's  report  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1904,  the  enrollment  in  Illinois  for  that  year  was  as  follows : 

Pupils  in  graded  schools 660,336 

Pupils  in  ungraded  schools S'^'-'^ 

Total 978,554 

Further : 

Number  of  graded  schools  (includTng  high  schools)     .     .       2,218 

Number  of  ungraded  schools  ^ 10,677 

Total 12,895 

Also: 

Average  number  of  days  per  year  for  each  pupil  in  graded 

schools '5" 

Average  number  of  days  per  year  for  each  pupil  in  un- 
graded schools 94 

Again : 

Number  of  teachers  in  graded  schools '5' '74 

Number  of  teachers  in  ungraded  schools 1 2,297 

Total 27,471 

Other  statistics  will  appear  in  their  proper  places.  Enough 
are  given  here  to  show  that,  for  Illinois,  318,2 1 8  pupils  taught 
by  12,297  teachers  in  10,677  schools  do  offer  opportunity 
for  educational  study,  especially  as  the  country  has  not  yet 
an  equality  of  privilege  as  to  length  of  the  school  year. 
Superintendent  Bayliss  adds,  "  But,  notwithstanding  this 
very  considerable  inequality  of  privilege  and  the  number  of 
lame  districts,  not  all  of  the  progress  has  been  made  in  the 
more  favored  schools." 

The  conditions  for  Illinois  are  about  the  same  as  for  the 
other  states  of  the  great  Middle  West.  The  United  States 
Department  of  Education  has  not  yet  classified  schools 
so  as  to  show  the  number  of  one-room  country  schools  in 
the  United  States,  with  enrollment,  etc.  Chatt  No.  60  —  a 
part  of  the  exhibit  of  the  United  States  Department  of 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHILD 


29 


Education  at  St.  Louis  —  was  a  comparison  of  the  city  and 
country  schools  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1902.  But 
on  this  chart  "cities"  meant  eight  thousand  or  more  people, 
while  "country  "  meant  everything  below  eight  thousand. 
This  is  not  a  very  good  division  for  the  student  who  would 


■p^--.  .1- 

li^«- 

i^' 

H^-  piipi^-r 

^'  !P!^i'-^V^ 

n 

^^. 

V           '- 

i^m    ^ 

J|af,«r«vl.'i 

f  p  ii 

//                 4 

f    '1 

mpiBr  - 

Fig.  19.    Down  on  the  River 

like  to  know  the  number  of  children  in  the  distinctively  one- 
room  country  schools.  However,  the  chart  is  here  given, 
and  the  reader  may  judge  whether  in  the  nation  at  large 
there  is  a  country -school  interest  of  sufficient  magnitude  for 
a  passing  notice. 

Chart  No.  60,  St,  Louis,  1904 


Population    .     .     . 

School  enrollment 

Average  attendance 

Teachers  .... 

Buildings 

Value  of  school  property 

Expenditure  for  teaching  and  supervision 

Total  expenditure  for  schools      .     .     .     . 


Per 

Cent 

Cities 

Country 

32.6 

67.4 

26.2 

73-8 

28.7 

71-3 

20.6 

79-4 

3-7 

96.3 

59-3 

40.7 

44-3 

55-7 

47.2 

52.8 

30        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

As  was  stated  above,  the  column  headed  "  Cities  "  included 
cities  with  a  population  of  eight  thousand  or  more.  The 
report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1902  gave 
five  hundred  and  eighty  cities  as  the  number  to  be  included 
in  the  first  column.    Study  these  figures. 

Yes,  this  a  big  country;  and  the  bigness  of  it  flashed 
upon  my  mind  at  the  closing  meeting  of  the  "  Ohio  River 


Fig.  20.    An  Old  Schoolhouse 

Tour"  in  the  educational  campaign  recently  conducted  by 
State  Superintendent  Miller  in  the  Panhandle  Stata  From 
that  West  Virginia  town  to  my  own  home  is  four  hundred 
miles  to  the  northwest.  Then  go  four  hundred  miles  more 
to  the  northwest,  and  we  come  to  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony 
and  the  twin  cities  of  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis.  Here  take 
the  North  Coast  Limited  on  the  Northern  Pacific,  and  one 
must  needs  ride  two  thousand  miles  more  before  arriving 
at  Portland,  the  place  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Exposition. 
This  is  a  magnificent  domain,  into  which  are  constantly  com- 
ing men,  women,  and  children  less  favored  in  educational 
advantages,  and  who  must  be  provided  for.  Education  is 
the  open  sesame  to  a  happier  life ;  and  that  distinctively 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHILD 


American  institution,  the  free  public  school,  is  the  only 
organized  institution  that  can  take  the  children  of  foreign 
lands  and  make  patriotic  American  citizens  of  them.  The 
country  school  must  share  the  responsibility  in  this  great 
test  of  national  stability,  though  at  present  the  foreign 
question  princi- 
pally concerns 
the  city. 

The  three 
great  forward 
movements  in 
the  evolution  of 
the  country 
school,  the  move 
ments  in  the 
campaign  for  an 
equality  of  edu- 
cational privilege 
for  the  country 
child,  are:  (i)  improvement  of  the  educational  plant; 
(2)  enrichment  of  the  course  of  study ;  (3)  consolidation 
of  country  schools. 


Fig.  21.    A  New  Schoolhouse 


Improvement  of  the  Educational  Plant 

The  little  schoolhouse  at  the  crossroads  shall  be  as  well 
fitted  for  the  purpose  intended  as  is  the  most  modern  city 
school  building.  It  shall  be  provided  with  the  necessary 
apparatus  for  doing  the  best  work.  The  grounds  shall  be 
neat  and  attractive,  making  this  place  the  most  beautiful 
in  all  the  countryside.  Hence  w^e  need  the  outdoor-art 
movement  for  trees,  flowers,  vines,  shrubbery,  and  school 


32        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

gardens;  and  the  indoor-art  movement  for  tinted  walls, 
harmonious  colors  in  furnishings,  choice  pictures  and  casts, 
and  neat  library  cases  filled  with  good  books.  These  are 
the  country  child's  rights. 


Enrichment  of  the  Course  of  Study 

The  country  child  shall  be  put  into  sympathetic  and 
intelligent  relation  to  his  environment.  The  country-school 
studies  shall  relate  more  to  the  life  of  the  child,  that  this  life 
may  be  rendered  more  significant.  In  an  elementary  way 
(quite  elementary  for  a  while)  the  scientific  discoveries  in  the 
domain  of  the  new  agriculture,  with  reference  to  soil  and 
plant  and  animal  life,  shall  receive  some  attention  from  the 
older  pupils  at  least.  Our  agricultural  colleges  and  experi- 
ment stations  are  discovering  valuable  information  for  the 
farmer.  These  discoveries  will  greatly  modify  farm  work 
and  country  life  when  the  great  mass  of  farmers  appreciate 
their  value ;  and  the  time  for  this  appreciation  to  begin  is 
when  the  future  farmer  is  a  child  at  school.  This  kind  of 
training  for  real  life  will  demand  and  secure  better  teachers. 
All  these  things  also  are  the  country  child's  rights. 


Consolidation  of  Country  Schools 

This  is  a  more  efficient  organization  and  administration 
of  country-school  interests  to  decrease  educational  waste 
and  increase  the  power  of  the  country  child  for  good.  This 
takes  the  country  high  school  to  the  fields  and  supplies 
the  connecting  link  between  the  farm  and  college  of  agri- 
culture.    The    country   child    has   a  right    to    secondary 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHILD         33 

education  without  the  necessity  of  leaving  the  farm  home 
to  get  it.^ 

And  so  the  battle  is  fairly  on.  Of  the  final  outcome  there 
is  no  doubt.  But  victory,  complete  victory,  will  not  be  won 
without  great  effort  and  sacrifice.  The  hardest  of  all  edu- 
cational problems  is  to  reach  the  average  farmer  and  to 
enlist  his  active  cooperation  for  the  betterment  of  the 
country  school.  He  who  enters  upon  this  work  must  have 
courage,  patience,  enthusiasm,  tireless  energy,  and  a  genius 
for  hard  work.  However,  this  is  true  of  any  cause  that  is 
really  worth  while. 

1  See  articles  on  "  Rural  High  Schools  "  by  Corbett,  in  School  Review^ 
Vol.  VIII,  Nos.  4  and  6. 


CHAPTER   III 

OUTDOOR  ART:  BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 

In  the  country  we  do  not  yet  appreciate  fully  the  educa- 
tional influence  of  environment.  We  rely  too  much  upon 
books  and  do  not  pay  enough  attention  to  things.  Various 
reasons  why  boys  leave  the  farm  have  been  assigned  by 


22.    Noble  Elms  spared  by  the  Telephone  Company 


speakers  at  farmers'  institutes.  I  have  never  heard  any  one 
claim  that  the  cheerless,  treeless,  country  school  yard  of 
itself  had  any  power  to  charm  and  enthrall  the  average  coun- 
try boy.    The  daily  routine  of  hard  work  is  much  harder  to 

34 


BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 


35 


endure  when  there  are  wanting  those  elements  of  soul  devel- 
opment which  inspire  the  youth  with  new  ideals.  Hence 
he  wishes  to  go  where  such  things  are,  that  his  being  may- 
be satisfied. 

It  is  not  strange  that  when  a  boy  reaches  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  refuses  to  associate  longer  with  the  old  school- 
house  with  its  blank 
walls  and  desolate 
yard.  He  feels  the 
restraint  of  his  envi- 
ronment. He  is  begin- 
ning to  see  life  in  a 
different  light,  and 
quits  school  then  for 
good,  or  else  the 
father  moves  to  the 
city,  where  his  chil- 
dren may  have  better 
opportunities  both  in 
school  and  out.  The 
secret  of  keeping 
more  boys  satisfied 
with  the  farm  rests 
primarily  with  the 
character  of  the  coun-  ^''''-  '^-  "^"'""^  '^""^'^  ^°  ''''^'  '^"^  ^"^^s 
try  schoolhouse  and  its  surroundings.  Why  do  not  trees 
and  fence  posts  grow  in  many  country  school  yards,  when 
they  thrive  with  great  vigor  around  the  farm  home  a  few 
rods  away.?  Scientific  agriculture  tells  us  that  soil  may  be 
inoculated  so  that  alfalfa,  soy  beans,  cow  peas,  etc.,  will 
grow  and  produce  abundant  crops.  Some  one  will  do  us 
a  great  service  if  he  will  tell  us  of  the  particular  microbe 


36        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

and  its  method  of  culture  that  will  correct  the  unproductive 
character  of  the  soil  in  so  many  school  yards,  with  especial 
reference  to  trees,  flowers,  vines,  shrubbery,  etc.  The 
peculiar  kind  of  bacteria  needed  is  the  one  that  will  induce 
the  average  school  patron  or  director  to  connect  himself 
gently  but  firmly  with  a  spade  and  do  some  excavating  in 
the  hitherto  unexplored  country  surrounding  the  crossroads 
temple  sacred  to  the  "  three  R's." 

There  is  need  of  some  kind  of  inoculation.  The  report 
of  Illinois  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1904,  shows  1766 
districts  without  trees  in  the  school  yard,  3532  districts 
with  not  enough  trees,  and  3954  with  well-kept  grounds; 
that  is,  there  are  5298  country  school  grounds  in  the  great 
state  of  Illinois  that  do  not  exercise  an  influence  upon  young 
children  that  will  lead  them  to  see  and  love  the  beautiful  in 
country  life.  Indeed,  the  effect  is  quite  the  contrary.  The 
problem  for  Illinois  may  be  stated  as  follows : 

Given :  Sunshine,  rain,  fertile  soil,  clouds,  the  blue  heavens,  trees, 
plants,  and  seeds. 

Given  also :  5298  school  grounds  blessed  with  sunshine,  rain,  soil, 
and  clouds,  but  needing  trees,  plants,  and  seeds.  There  are  1 50.000 
boys  and  girls  (more  or  less)  playing  on  these  grounds  and  watched 
over  by  5298  teachers  and  nearly  16,000  school  officers. 

To  prove :  Our  faith  in  the  possibility  of  the  right  kind  of  environ- 
ment as  an  educational  force  in  the  lives  of  children. 

To  show  :  Our  faith  by  our  works,  with  the  cooperation  of  16,000 
school  officers,  5298  teachers,  and  150,000  children. 

How  long  will  the  policy  of  neglect  prevail  in  5298  school 
districts  ? 

Let  us  observe  Arbor  Day  in  every  school  with  appropri- 
ate songs  and  exercises;  but  let  us  not  forget  to  plant 
when  planting  needs  to  be  done.  For  schools  whose  prem- 
ises are  treeless  the  proper  thing  to  do  would  be  to  dig 


BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 


37 


rather  than  sing,  if  only  one  could  be  done  in  a  day.  What 
is  the  use  of  singing  about  trees  and  ending  at  that,  when 
planting  and  caring  for  trees  is  needed  ? 

No,  Arbor  Day  has  not  been  observed  in  the  proper 
spirit  when  some  afternoon  a  little  boy  recites  "What  Plant 
we  when  we  Plant  the  Apple  Tree  ? "  and  a  class  of 
girls  sing  "The  Brave  Old  Oak,"  and  then  all  go  to  work 


Fig.  24.    The  Four  Oaks 

on  the  arithmetic  lesson,  leaving  the  grounds  as  desolate 
as  before.  What  would  be  the  effect  if  one  of  the  beauti- 
ful trees  shown  in  this  chapter  could  be  placed  in  each  one 
of  the  5298  school  grounds?  Why  not  begin.?  Trees  do 
have  an  educational  as  well  as  an  ornamental  value.  Coun- 
try people  as  a  rule  do  not  realize  how  deeply  children  are 
impressed  by  the  natural  world  around  them.    The  school 


38        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

is  or  should  be  the  center  of  the  hfe  of  the  community. 
This  center  of  influence  should  be  made  as  attractive  and 
powerful  as  possible.  A  pretty  and  attractive  schoolhouse 
and  grounds  are  an  incentive  to  good  work.  The  greatest 
obstacle  to  be  overcome  is  public  indifference.  Shall  the 
improvement  of  the  school  grounds  be  left  to  a  general  and 
faithfully  executed  policy  of  neglect  ?  Is  the  old  weather- 
beaten  schoolhouse  on  a  barren  spot  of  ground  so  insignifi- 
cant that  it  is  not  worthy  of  attention.?  "  It  is  the  most 
tremendously  significant  thing  in  the  whole  history  of  the 


Fic.  25.    A  Real  Playground 

United  States.  It  is  the  cradle  of  American  education, 
the  nursery  which  has  always  fostered,  and  still  fosters, 
the  national  doctrine  of  equal  rights  for  all." 

The  practical  question  is  how  to  overcome  indifference 
and  arouse  a  healthy  public  sentiment  for  attractive  school 
grounds.  This  is  a  hard  question,  and  its  answer  must 
largely  be  determined  by  local  conditions.  For  the  last  six 
years  I  have  found  the  following  agencies  to  be  very  helpful. 

1.  Bulletins  on  tree  planting  and  attractive  grounds  sent  to  all 
teachers,  school  officers,  and  hundreds  of  leading  farmers. 

2.  Illustrated  printed  matter  sent  from  the  office  of  the  county 
superintendent  to  all  the  schools.    This  was  an  attempt  to  reach  the 


BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 


39 


parents  through  the  children.  This  literature  showed  the  condition  of 
all  kinds  of  school  grounds  in  the  county.  Illustrated  articles  were 
also  furnished  the  local  press.    A  picture  tells  its  own  story. 

3.  Books  on  trees,  flowers,  etc.,  and  all  that  pertains  to  the  beauti- 
ful in  country  life  are  placed  in  the  seventy-three  traveling  libraries, 
so  that  the  children  and  teachers  in  the  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
districts  may  form  higher  ideals  of  beauty  in  outdoor  life. 

4.  Discussion  of  school  improvement  at  our  teachers'  meetings  and 
the  annual'  institutes.  These  latter  are  held  the  last  week  of  March, 
thus  enabling  teachers  to  carry  out  plans  while  interest  and  enthusiasm 


Fig.  26.    Standing  by  their  Colors 

are  on.  The  general  subject  of  beautifying  school  grounds  was  made 
the  theme  of  the  Union  Township  graduation  exercises  held  in  June, 
1903.  The  subject  for  that  year  was  "Outdoor  Art  for  Home  and 
School."  Typewritten  material  was  given  the  sixteen  different  pro- 
gramme committees  —  one  set  for  each  township  —  during  the  annual 
institute  the  last  week  of  March.  The  material  comprised  such 
selections  as  the  following: : 


1.  Song  of  the  Brave  Old  Oak. 

2.  Birds  of  Killingworth. 

3.  The     Country     Schoolhouse 

and  its  Grounds. 

4.  The    Vine    on    the     School- 

house. 


5.  The  Black  Walnut. 

6.  The  White  Elm. 

7.  The  White  Oak. 

8.  The  White  Ash. 

9.  The    Shellbark 

Hickory. 


From 

Among 

Green 

Trees, 

by 

Roofers. 


40        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

10.  How    do    the    Robins   build      23.  Hints    on    Country    School 

their  Nests?  Grounds. 

11.  Arbor  Day  Song  (air,  Battle      24.  Tree   Planting  on    Country 

Hymn  of  the  Republic).  School  Grounds. 

12.  Value  of  School  Garden.  25.  Arbor  Day. 

13.  Why    improve     School  26.  Forest  and  Forestry. 

Grounds?  27.  The  Forest  and  Man. 

14.  Arbor  Day  Anthem.  28.  Landscape  Gardening. 

15.  Dear  Dandelion.  29.  Clover    (poem    by    James 

16.  Daisy  Fair  (motion  song).  Whitcomb  Riley). 

17.  The  Flower's  Mission.  30.  Improvement    of    School 

18.  From  my  Armchair.  Grounds. 

19.  Why  plant  Trees?  3^-  The  Trees. 

20.  Under  the  Washington  Elm,  32.  Plant  Trees  and    protect 

Cambridge.  Birds. 

21.  To  a  Mountain  Daisy.  33.  Historical  Trees  (told  in 

22.  The  Little  Brown  Wren.  rhyme). 

The  educational  character  of  the  above  material  can  best 
be  judged  by  quoting  entire  one  of  the  above  selections. 
Here  follows  selection  30: 

The  editor  of  a  well-known  magazine  recently  asked  five  hundred 
business  men  all  over  the  country  whether,  in  their  opinion,  there  is 
any  financial  value  in  attractive  surroundings  to  a  business  plant. 
Ninety-five  per  cent  of  those  replying  declare  that  the  product  of  a 
business  concern  or  factory  is  much  more  valuable  when  the  factory 
or  ofhce  is  clean,  attractive,  and  beautiful,  and  when  the  employees 
can  come  in  daily  contact  with  orderly  surroundings  and  see  floral 
beauties  on  the  grounds.  Furthermore,  they  declare  that  such  well- 
ordered  business  concerns  are  a  decided  commercial  benefit  to  the 
community. 

A  question  of  equal  significance  might  be  asked  of  educators, 
preachers,  and  parents,  —  whether,  in  their  opinion,  there  is  any  moral, 
intellectual,  and  spiritual  value  in  attractive  school  surroundings ; 
whether  the  children  are  happier  and  their  work  more  efficient  by 
daily  contact  with  beautiful  school  grounds;  whether  the  cultivated 
taste  and  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  would  not  find  expression  in 


BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 


41 


the  improvement  of  the  home  conditions,  thus  making  the  school  a 
radiating  center  for  civic  improvement. 

The  great  interest  in  pubUc  beauty  which  is  manifested  all  over 
the  country  is  largely  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  American  Park  and 
Outdoor  Art  Association  and  the  American  League  for  Civic  Improve- 
ment. They  have  done  much  public  service  by  a  process  of  organiza- 
tion and  education,  and  there  is  no  better  place  to  begin  than  in  the 
public  schools.  The  most  efficient  way  of  reaching  the  parents  is 
through  the  children. 

The  greatest  need  and  greatest  opportunity  is  in  rural  districts ; 
and,  alas !  too  often  there  is  only  bleakness  and  barrenness.  The 
school  directors 
seem  to  have  set 
apart  the  poorest 
ground  in  the  dis- 
trict for  the  school 
yard.  Will  nothing 
grow?  There  are 
no  flowers,  and  only 
some  weak  grass 
and  a  few  starved 
trees.  By  a  little 
effort  the  unattract- 
ive surroundings 
could  be  made 
pleasant  and  beau- 
tiful.  Children 
should    be    led    to 


^Hh 


'^W 


r'# 


Fig.  27.    A  Shrubbery  Detail 


study  Nature's  method,  and  to  examine  her  manner  of  planting  flowers 
beside  the  road,  grouping  trees  and  shrubs  along  the  fences,  in  the 
woods,  and  upon  the  banks  of  streams.  The  wind,  the  birds,  and  the 
squirrels  — •  Nature's  agents  —  have  no  regularity  in  their  seed  planting. 
The  arrangement  is  an  irregular  massing  of  her  trees,  shrubs,  and 
flowers,  and  their  struggle  for  existence  produces  pleasing  variety 
and  effective  results  all  the  year  round. 

For  inspiration  in  my  efforts  to  create  a  new  ideal  with 
reference  to  the  beautiful  in  country  life  I  am  indebted  to 


42  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

various  agencies  given  below,  though  not  necessarily  given 
in  order  of  importance. 

1.  Bulletins  issued  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, especially  the  ones  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  and 
the  Bureau  of  Forestry. 

2.  Publications  of  the  American  Park  and  Outdoor  Art  Association. 


Fig.  28.    The  Treeless  School  Grounds 

3.  Literature  and  pictures  given  by  the  Youth's  Companion  Pub- 
lishing Company. 

4.  Various  magazines  like  Country  Life  in  America. 

5.  Arbor  and  Bird  Day  manuals  issued  for  the  past  six  years  by 
the  state  superintendents  of  Iowa,  Indiana,  Nebraska,  Wisconsin, 
and  Illinois.    Those  of  Wisconsin  have  been  especially  helpful. 

6.  Books  like  Babcock's  Bird  Day;  Ely's  A  lVoman''s  Hardy 
Garden;  Miller's  Children's  Gardens;  Blanchan's  Nature's  Garden; 
Dugmore's  Nature  and  the  Camera;  Hemenway's  How  to  make  a 
School  Garden;  Roth's  First  Book  of  Forestry;  Roberts's  The 
Heart  of  the  Ancient  Wood;  'RogQr&''&  Among  Green  Trees;  Miller's 
The  Brook  Book;  Gibson's  Eye  Spy;  Burroughs's  Pepacton;  and 
many  others. 

7.  A  closer  study  of  road,  stream,  and  field  in  my  own  county  of 
Winnebago.    There  is  much  of  beauty  in  each  school  district  which 


BEAUT1FVL\G  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 


43 


the  children  do  not  yet  see.  If  they  do  see  it,  they  are  like  the  lad 
who  said  to  me  a  few  days  ago  (when  we  were  discussing  Bryant's 
"  What  Plant  we  when  we  Plant  the  Apple  Tree?"),  in  answer  to 
the  question  about  the  beauty  of  common  things,  "  We  may  see  the 


«S    ^^y.f.7,     - 


Fig.  29.    Why  not  on  the  School  Ground  ? 

beauty,  but  we  don't  think  of  it."  This  was  from  a  boy  ten  years  old. 
I  feel  sure  that  teachers  can  get  an  inspiration  from  some  one  or 
more  of  the  above  sources,  which  will  lead  them  to  see  and  think  more 
of  the  beauty  of  common  things. 

It  does  not  cost  much  to  plant  trees.  The  small  item  of 
expense  may  not  be  the  reason  why  more  planting  is  not 
done.  Perhaps  teachers,  children,  and  school  officers  do 
not  know  what  to  plant,  or  how  to  plant,  or  why  to  plant. 

The  following  bulletins  cost  nothing  and  should  be  in 
every  country  school  and  should  be  studied  by  teachers 


44        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

and  pupils.  In  addition  to  this,  copies  should  be  mailed 
to  the  school  officers  of  every  district  still  without  trees. 
The  bulletins  are  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C.  Send 
postal  card  for  them. 

1.  Tree   Planting  on   Rural   School  Grounds  (Farmers'  Bulletin 

No.  134). 

2.  A  Primer  of  Forestry  (Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  173). 

3.  What  Forestry  Means  to  Representative  Men  (Circular  No.  33). 

Bulletin  No.  1 34  was  sent  to  two  hundred  teachers,  three 
hundred  and  fifty  school  officers,  and  several  hundred  repre- 
sentative farmers  in  our  county.  I  wanted  them  to  know 
that  trees  will  grow  in  the  soil  surrounding  the  average 
schoolhouse.  This  is  a  very  useful  pamphlet  and  its  value 
in  stimulating  interest  in  trees  cannot  be  overestimated, 
provided,  of  course,  that  it  is  read  and  that  proper  action 
results  from  the  reading.   The  table  of  contents  is  as  follows : 

Reasons  for  School-Ground  Planting. 

Arbor  Day  and  School-Ground  Planting. 

Preliminary  Arrangements  for  Planting. 

What  Planting  to  Do. 

Kinds  of  Trees  to  Plant. 

Obtaining  the  Trees. 

How  to  plant  the  Trees. 

Why  Trees  die  in  Transplanting. 

Care  of  Trees  after  Planting. 

Studies  for  the  Teacher  and  School. 

Facts  about  Trees. 

Can  any  outline  be  more  practical  and  to  the  point  for 
the  country  school-teacher  anxious  to  do  something  to 
beautify  the  grounds  ?    The  fact  is  that  we  have  so  long 


BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 


45 


regarded  books  as  the  sole  agent  in  the  education  of  the 
country  child,  that  as  teachers  we  have  become  slaves  of 
the  text  and  feel  lost  when  we  try  to  teach  something  or  do 
something  for  which  we  can  find  no  rule  in  the  text-book  of 
sacred  reliance.  Can  anything  of  educational  value  come 
from  digging  in  the  dirt  and  planting  trees  ?  Listen  to  what 
the  author  of  this 
bulletin  has  to  say 
about  the  educa- 
tional value  of  trees: 

It  is  money  well  spent 
to  make  the  schoolhouse 
and  everj'thing  about  it 
attractive  and  beautiful. 
Here  is  one  of  the  cen- 
ters of  the  life  of  the 
community,  the  one  in 
which  is  gathered  its 
most  impressionable  ele- 
ment. The  school  is  sup- 
ported at  public  expense 
in  order  to  make  good 
American  citizens.  It 
aims  at  securing  the  highest  possible  development  of  mind  and  char- 
acter. Every  element  of  order,  neatness,  and  beauty,  every  broadening 
influence,  every  appeal  to  the  finer  nature  of  the  child,  means  better 
men  and  women  and  a  more  thrifty,  prosperous,  and  attractive  com- 
munity. Americans  are  justly  proud  of  their  school  system,  and 
should  be  willing  to  support  the  schools  not  only  with  money  but 
with  time  and  labor. 

Under  "  Studies  for  the  Teacher  and  School "  are  given 
such  important  topics  as  Characteristics  of  Trees,  Influence 
of  Soil  upon  Trees,  Composition  of  Soils,  Influence  of  Trees 
upon  Soil,  Influence  of  Trees  upon  One  Another,  and  Books 


Fig.  30.    Treatment  of  Outbuildings 


46 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


and  Trees.  The  bulletin  is  well  illustrated.  But  perhaps 
enough  has  been  said  to  interest  many  teachers  to  secure 
a  copy,  and  at  the  same  time  to  have  copies  sent  to  school 
directors  and  prominent  patrons  of  the  district. 

The  country  children  in  planting  and  caring  for  trees 
become  a  part  of  the  great  forestry  movement  that  is  sweep- 
ing over  the  country. 
The  older  children  of 
the  school  will  appreci- 
ate Circular  No.  33, — 
"  What  Forestry  means 
to  Representative 
Men."  Says  President 
Roosevelt : 

I  ask  with  all  the  inten- 
sity that  I  am  capable  of,  that 
the  men  of  the  West  will 
remember  the  sharp  distinc- 
tion I  have  just  drawn  be- 
tween the  man  who  skins 
the  land  and  the  man  who 
develops  the  country.  I  am 
going  to  work  with,  and  only 
with,  the  man  who  develops 
the  country.  I  am  against 
the  land  skinner  every  time. 
Our  policy  is  consistent,  to 
give  to  every  portion  of  the 
public  domain  its  highest  possible  amount  of  use,  and  of  course  that  can 
be  given  only  through  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  Western  people. 

President  Roosevelt  would  have  scant  sympathy  with 
the  people  who  would  allow  the  country  school  grounds  to 
remain  "skinned"  of  trees,  and  would  not  "develop"  the 
possibilities  that  even  a  school  yard  holds. 


Fig.  31.   Treatment  of  Outbuildings 


BEAUTIFVINC;  SCHOOL  GROUNDS  47 

The  YoutJi s  Covipaiiioii,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  pubHshes 
two  excellent  illustrated  pamphlets  which  every  country 
teacher  and  school  officer  should  read.  One  is  "  How  to 
set  out  Trees  and  Shrubbery,"  by  Professor  L.  H.  Bailey, 
Dean  of  the  College  of  Agriculture,  Ithaca,  New  York;  the 
other  is  "  Suggestions  for  beautifying  Home,  Village,  and 
Roadway,"  by  Warren  H.  Manning,  Secretary  of  the  Amer- 
ican Park  and  Outdoor  Art  Association.  To  see  and  read 
these  publications  will  surely  give  higher  ideals  of  beauty. 


!■  IG.  3::.    InipKJvmg  (j rounds  of  Consolidated  School 

I  refer  to  this  literature  because  so  often  teachers  and  chil- 
dren would  do  things  if  they  only  knew  what  is  best  to  be 
done  and  the  best  way  of  doing  it.  Since  as  teachers  we 
are  so  fond  of  confining  our  education  to  the  printed  page, 
why  not  know  something  about  trees  and  flowers  as  well  as 
about  the  elements  of  a  complex  sentence  or  how  to  extract 
the  cube  root  to  three  decimal  places  .^  The  following  is  the 
opening  paragraph  of  the  pamphlet  by  Dean  Bailey: 

One's  training  for  the  work  of  life  is  begun  in  the  home  and  fostered 
in  the  school.    This  training  is  the  result  of  a  direct  and  conscious 


48        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

effort  on  the  part  of  the  parent  and  teacher,  combined  with  the  indirect 
result  of  the  surroundings  in  which  the  child  is  placed.  The  surround- 
ings are  more  potent  than  we  think,  and  they  are  usually  neglected.  It 
is  probable  that  the  antipathy  to  farm  life  is  often  formed  before  the 
child  is  able  to  reason  on  the  subject.  An  attractive  playground  will 
do  more  than  a  profitable  wheat  crop  to  keep  the  child  on  the  farm. 

Dean  Bailey,  in  his  book,  The  Nature  Study  Idea,  says 
the  following  with  reference  to  the  first  thing  to  be  done  : 

The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  arouse  the  public  conscience.  Begin  with 
the  children.  As  soon  as  they  are  directed  to  see  the  conditions  they 
will  believe  what  they  see.  They  are  not  prejudiced.  They  will  talk 
about  it;  teacher,  mother,  father  will  hear. 

I  give  these  quotations  because  the  value  of  the  beautiful 
in  the  country  cannot  be  emphasized  too  strongly  if  we  hope 
to  spiritualize  country  life. 

The  grounds  of  the  first  consolidated  country  school  in 
Illinois  in  Seward  Township,  Winnebago  County  (see  an- 
other chapter),  are  3.6  acres  in  extent  and  cost  the  con- 
solidated district  a  thousand  dollars.  It  was  part  of  a 
cornfield  ;  hence  not  a  tree  or  shrub  was  growing  when 
the  school  opened,  February  i,  1904.  By  permission  of  the 
school  directors,  I  asked  Professor  J.  C.  Blair,  Chief  of  Horti- 
culture, College  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Illinois,  to 
prepare  a  design  for  the  improvement  of  the  grounds,  with 
suggested  planting,  which  would  serve  as  an  ideal  for  the 
people.  He  did  so,  and  Arbor  Day  was  then  observed  in 
earnest,  April,  1904.  A  good  beginning  has  been  made, 
although  much  remains  to  be  done.  But  here  is  an  oppor- 
tunity for  growth.  If  the  people  in  this  consolidated  dis- 
trict are  true  to  the  new  ideal,  what  a  contrast  this  school 
ground  will  be  to  those  surrounding  the  old  houses  ! 


BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 


49 


The  diagram  is  given,  with  the  details  of  planting.  The 
varieties  of  trees,  shrubs,  etc.,  are  given.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  some  one  is  asking  for  the  specific  names  of  things 
to  plant.  Observe  that  what  will  grow  in  the  latitude  of 
Illinois  will  grow  in  Iowa,  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Indiana, 
Ohio,  Michigan,  West  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  and  the 
New  England  states. 
This  is  according  to 
a  district  map  of  the 
United  States  shown 
on  page  39  of  the 
Farmers' Bulletin  No. 
218,  —  "The  School 
Garden," — prepared 
by  L.  C.  Corbett, 
Horticulturist,  Bu- 
reau of  Plant  Indus- 
try, United  States 
Department  of  Agri- 
culture, Washington, 
D.C. 

In    the   following 
enumeration  of  the 


Fig.  33.    Vines  on  the  Schoolhouse 


Seward  planting,  prepared  by  Professor  Blair,  the  scientific 
names  are  omitted  where  the  common  name  is  given.  The 
numbers  here  given  refer  to  numbers  in  the  diagram  (Fig.  35): 

1.  Schoolhouse. 

2.  Front  walk,  5  ft.  wide. 

3.  Walks  to  well,  3  ft.  wide. 

4.  Girls'  closet. 

4  a.   Walks  to  girls'  closet,  3  ft.  wide. 


50 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


5.  Walk  to  rear  door. 

6.  Boys'  closet. 

6a.  Walk  to  boys'  closet,  3  ft.  wide. 

7.  Drive  to  rear  door,  6  ft.  wide,  of  cinders  or  gravel. 

8.  Drive  to  horse  shed,  6  ft.  wide,  of  cinders  or  gravel. 

9.  Shed  for  horses,  20  ft.  by  100  ft. 

10.  Shed  for  manure,  5  ft.  by  20  ft. 

1 1.  Tennis  court,  27  ft.  by  78  ft. 

12.  Tennis  court,  27  ft.  by  78  ft. 


Fig.  34.   At  the  Well 


13.  School  garden  or  experimental  plots,  each  20  ft.  by  30  ft. 

14.  Well. 

15-46.  American  Elm  (White  Elm  or  Water  Elm). 

47.  Althea  (Rose  of  Sharon)  (red,  white,  blue). 

48.  Hibiscus  Syriacus. 

49.  Colorado  Blue  Spruce. 

50.  Sugar  Maple  (Hard  Maple  or  Rock  Maple). 


51- 

52. 
53- 


{a)    Red    Siberian    Dogwood.      {b)    Golden-barked    Cornel. 

{c)  European  Red  Osier  Dogwood. 
Sweet  Shrub  (Spicebush). 
{a)  Garland  Syringa.    {b)  Large-flowering  Syringa.    (c)  Phila- 

delphtts  billardii.    {d)  Golden  Mock 'Orange. 


Fig.  35.    A  Design  for  the  Improvemer 
Prepared  by  C.  A.  Crosthwait,  under  tlie  direction 


i  Planting  of  the  Seward  School  Grounds 

C.  Bhiir,  Chief  of  Horticulture,  University  of  Illinois 


BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS  51 

54.  (a)  Japan  Snowball,    (d)   IVeigelia  Candida,    (c)  Wayfaring- 

tree.    (</)  Common  Lilac,    {e)  Cranberry-tree.    (/)  Syringa 
Vulgaris  a  Ida. 

55.  Hardy  Catalpa  (Western  Catalpa). 

56.  European  Barberry. 

57.  (a)  Common  Elder,    {b)  Golden  Elder,    {c)  Cut-leaved  Elder. 

(<■/)  Flowering  Currant  (Crimson-flowered  Currant),   (f)  R/iiis 
glabra,  Rlnis  copallina,  Rhus  typJiina. 

58.  American  Arborvitte  (a  hedge). 

59.  Basswood  (Linden,  Linn,  Lime  Tree,  etc.). 

60.  European  Larch. 

61.  Lombardy  Poplar. 

62.  White-flowering  Dogwood. 

63.  Red-flowering  Dogwood. 

64.  Red  Juniper  (Red  Cedar). 

65.  Nordmann's  Silver  Fir. 

66.  Red  Juniper  (Red  Cedar). 

67.  Pyramidal  Arborvita;. 

68.  Pyramidal  Arborvitte. 

69.  American  ArborvitiE. 

70.  Siberian  Arborvitae. 

71.  European  Burning-bush  (Strawberry-tree). 

72.  For sy  tin  a  Fort  unci. 

73.  Dwarf  Pink-flowering  Almond. 

74.  («)  Cranberry-tree.   (  b^  Japan  Quince. 

75.  Hazelnut. 

76.  Kentucky  Coffee-tree. 

77.  (rt)   Red    Osier,    (b^  Cornus  panictilata.    (r)   European  Red 

Osier  Dogwood. 

78.  {a)  Mountain  Sumac,    {b^  Rhus  glabra,    (c)  Rhus  iyphina. 

79.  Norway  Maple. 

80.  Flowering  Raspberry. 

8 1 .  {a)  Van  Houtte's  Spirea.   {b)  Thunberg's  Spirea.    (t)  Golden 

Spirea. 

82.  Tree  Peony. 

83.  Tulip-tree. 

84.  Fortune's  Pink  Spirea. 

85.  Spirea  Bninaldi. 


52        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

86.  (a)White  Alder  (Pepper-bush).    (^)  European  Burning-bush. 

(c)  Spicebush  (Sweet  Shrub). 

87.  (a)  Dwarf  Deutzia.    (l>)  Common  Mezereon.    (c)  English  Fly 

Honeysuckle. 

88.  Hardy  Ferns. 

8g.  (a)   Deutzia    Crenata    candidissima.     (^),  (f),    (^)    Dwarf 
Deutzia. 

90.  Hardy  Roses  of  different  varieties. 

91.  Basswood  (see  59). 


l''u;.  j6.    A  Row  ul  ilard  .Muples 

92.  (r:)    Common  Lilac,    {b)    Red  Osier.    (<:)    Purple  Barberry. 

(</)  Japan  Snowball,    {e)  Purple-leaved  Plum.    (/)  White 
Lilac. 

93.  Tartarian  Honeysuckle. 

94.  Hardy  Ferns. 

95.  Forsythia  Fortunei. 

96.  Lonicera  Fragrantissima. 

97.  Tartarian  Honeysuckle. 

98.  White  Tartarian  Honeysuckle. 

99.  Indian  Currant  (Coral-berry). 
100.  Joan  of  Arc. 


BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS  53 

10 1.  Snowberry. 

102.  St.  John's-wort. 

103.  Forsythia  viridissima. 
104-110.  Japanese  Ivy  (Boston  Ivy). 

Ill,  112.  Hibiscus  Syriacus  (several  varieties). 

113.  Great-panicled  Hydrangea. 

1 14.  Flowering  Currant. 

115.  Hardy  Roses. 

116.  Oriental  Plane-tree. 

117.  Syringa  vulgaris  {Oi\z.r\&^^'). 

118.  Maidenhair-tree  (Gingks-tree). 

1 19.  Hackberry  (Xettle-tree). 

120.  Japanese  Sweetbrier. 

121.  {a)  White  Lilac.  (<J)  Common  Lilac,  {c)  De  Markley's  Red 

Lilac. 

122.  Scarlet  Oak. 

123.  American  Redbud  (Judas-tree). 

124.  Pin-oak. 

125.  White  Walnut  (Butternut). 

126.  Silky  Cornel. 

127.  Black  Walnut. 

128.  Hazelnut. 

129.  Wild  Cherry  (Black  Cherry). 

130.  {a)  Forsythia  Fortunei.    {b)  Japan  Quince,     (c)  Pearl-bush. 

131.  Silver-bell. 

132.  White  Pine  (Weymouth  Pine). 

133.  Hemlock  (Hemlock  Spruce). 

134.  Japanese  Holly. 

135.  European  White  Birch. 

136.  Norway  Spruce. 

137.  Black  Pine  (Austrian  Pine). 

138.  Japan  Corchorus. 

139.  Thornless  Honey  Locust. 

In  the  accompanying  plan  (Fig.  35)  no  plants  have  been  suggested 
besides  trees  and  hardy  shrubs.  The  idea  is  that  in  this  way  the  most 
enduring  and  dignified  planting  can  be  produced.  However,  there  are 
two  great  classes  of  plants  which  are  of  importance,  especially  in  the 


54 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


earlier  years  of  growth  of  our  statelier  plants.    These  are  our  herba- 
ceous perennials  and  annuals. 

Herbaceous  perennials  are  easy  to  grow,  and  many  may  be  planted 
in  almost  any  place.  They  may  be  planted  in  the  open  or  among 
or  under  trees  and  shrubs.  In  a  naturalistic  planting,  however,  they 
should  not  be  planted  in  formal  beds.  They  should  be  scattered 
about  in  a  seemingly  careless  manner,  and  they  should  be  found  in 
the  bays  of  shrubbery  and  in  any  nook  that  seems  to  need  filling. 

For  quick  effects 
the  annuals  come 
into  play.  What 
has  been  said  of  the 
perennials  is  true  of 
the  annuals  as  well. 
Whatever  else  is 
done  in  this  plant- 
ing, do  not  disfig- 
ure the  landscape 
by  digging  up  great 
spaces  for  formal 
flower  beds.  Let 
teachers  and  pupils 
have  the  privilege 
of  noticing  where 
the  various  peren- 
nials and  annuals 
do  well,  and  deciding  among  themselves  where  they  are  most  at  home. 
Our  retiring  flowers  of  the  woodland  would  seem  entirely  out  of  place 
in  a  bed  out  in  the  lawn.  A  few  perennials  and  annuals  which  may 
well  find  a  home  in  some  part  of  our  planting  are  mentioned  below : 

Perennials.  Anemone  (or  wind  flower),  columbine,  asters,  bluebell 
(or  harebell),  chrysanthemum,  coreopsis,  larkspur,  foxglove,  sunflower 
(especially  the  double  variety),  hollyhock,  poppy,  peony,  phlox,  golden- 
rod,  trillium,  bleeding-heart,  iris,  ornamental  grasses,  violets,  spring- 
beauty,  dogtooth  violet,  etc. 

Annuals.  China  aster,  alyssum,  snapdragon,  balsam,  bachelor's 
button,  coxcomb,  pink,  nasturtium,  pansy,  petunia,  phlox,  poppy, 
castor-oil  bean,  sunflower,  verbena,  zinnia,  etc. 


BEAUTIFYING  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 


55 


Bulbous  plants.  Crocus,  dahlia,  gladiolus,  lily,  narcissus,  tuberose, 
tulip,  etc. 

Climbers.  It  is  recommended  that  the  outbuildings,  horse  shed, 
closets,  etc.,  be  covered  as  soon  as  possible  with  rapidly  growing 
vines.  If  a  latticework  of  some  kind  is  built  around  the  closets,  they 
will  soon  be  hidden.  The  slower  growing  shrubs  will  come  on  in  due 
time.  The  American  ivy,  Dutchman's-pipe,  bittersweet,  virgin's- 
bower,  trumpet-creeper,  and  wistaria  are  all  hardy  perennials.  For 
the  first  year  the  climbing  cucumber,  hop-vine,  or  morning-glory  may 
be  used.    There  are  many  others  from  which  to  choose. 

J.  C.  Blair 

Urbana,  Illinois 


Surely  the  excuse  that  we  do  not  know  what  to  plant 
is  no  longer  a  valid  one.  Our  country  schools  should  be 
centers  of  influence  in  the  movement  to  make  the  country 
truly  a  country  beautiful.    There  is  great  hope  with  the 


Fig.  38.    \Vheie  the  Wild  Ciab  Apple,  Plum,  etc.,  are  Saved 


rising  generation.  When  the  children  of  to-day  become  the 
men  and  women  of  a  great  to-morrow,  if  their  education 
has  done  for  them  what  it  should  do,  they  will  "believe 
in  beauty  in  the  schoolroom,  in  the  home,  in  daily  life,  and 
out  of  doors." 


CHAPTER  IV 
SCHOOL  GARDENS 

The  school  garden  in  the  country  school  is  as  yet  an 
experiment.  While  this  is  true,  it  is  nevertheless  a  move- 
ment which  promises  much,  if  properly  directed,  in  the 
new  education  for  the  country  child.  Something  more  than 
talk  is  needed  if  our  school  grounds  are  to  be  made  beau- 
tiful and  if  our  children  are  to  have  elementary  instruction 
in  agriculture.  Unless  something  is  done,  the  grounds  will 
continue  to  be  desolate.  The  study  of  agriculture  in  the 
country  school  must  lead  the  children  to  investigate  for 
themselves  with  reference  to  soil  and  plant  life.  Hence  the 
beginnings  of  the  school-garden  movement  in  the  country 
school,  though  crude  and  unscientific  to  the  expert,  are  to  be 
commended,  for  they  are  a  long  advance  over  the  do-noth- 
ing policy  which  has  prevailed  long  enough.  Let  us  have 
the  courage  to  be  pioneers  in  a  movement  that  is  right  in 
itself,  though  we  may  not  be  able  to  see  very  far  ahead. 
Manual  training  was  held  up  to  derision  and  laughed  to 
scorn  by  those  who  were  supposed,  by  themselves  at  least, 
to  know  all  worth  knowing  in  the  theory  and  practice  of 
education.  Manual  training  flourished,  however,  and  the 
school  garden  has  at  least  a  fighting  chance. 

We  are  slowly  changing  our  opinions  with  reference  to 
many  things  in  the  training  of  the  child.  To-day  we  are 
inclined  to  believe  with  John  Dewey  that  education  is  not 
merely  a  preparation  for  life,  but  that  it  is,  or  should  be, 

56 


SCHOOL  GARDENS  57 

life.  Professor  Hanus  of  Harvard  University,  in  his  new 
book,  A  Modern  School,  speaks  as  follows  with  reference 
to  the  kind  of  education  demanded  by  democratic  society. 
He  says : 

Now  the  only  real  preparation  for  life's  duties,  opportunities,  and 
privileges  is  participation  in  them  so  far  as  they  can  be  rendered  in- 
telligible, interesting,  and  accessible  to  children  and  youth  of  school 
age  ;  and  hence  the  first  duty  of  all  education  is  to  provide  participation 
as  fully  and  as  freely  as  possible.  From  the  beginning  such  an  educa- 
tion cannot  be  limited  to  the  school  arts,  —  reading,  writing,  ciphering. 


Fig.  39.    A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1903) 

It  must  acquaint  the  pupil  with  the  material  and  social  environment 
in  order  that  every  avenue  of  knowledge  mav  be  opened  to  him,  and 
every  incipient  power  receive  appropriate  cultivation.  Any  other 
course  is  a  postponement  of  education,  not  education.  Such  a  post- 
ponement is  a  permanent  loss  to  the  individual  and  to  society.  It  is 
a  perversion  of  opportunity,  and  an  economic  waste. 

And  SO  the  education  of  the  country  child  for  life's  work 
"cannot  be  limited  to  the  school  arts," — the  "three 
R's  "  of  blessed  memory  !  What  is  the  "  material  and  social 
environment  "  of  the  country  child,  — this  educative  mate- 
rial which  is  to  assist   in   cultivating  his  "every  incipient 


58        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

power"  ?  It  seems  that  "appropriate  cultivation  "  is  not  to 
come  alone  from  reading  some  text-book  on  soil  and  the 
planting  of  seeds,  but  that  there  shall  be  "  participation  " 
in  educational  processes,  so  far  as  these  processes  can  be 
•'rendered  intelligible,  interesting,  and  accessible  to  chil- 
dren and  youth  of  school  age."  Well,  the  school  garden 
surely  can  be  made  accessible  to  most  of  the  country  chil- 
dren ;  and  the  boys  and  girls  will  gladly  "  participate  "  in 
soil  experiments  and  plant  growing,  if  a  real  live  teacher 
will  make  the  participation  "intelligible  and  interesting." 
So,  fellow-teacher  in  some  remote  district  school,  if  you 
are  teaching  your  children  to  do  things  as  well  as  to  study 
about  things,  be  of  good  cheer,  for  you  are  in  accord  with 
educational  thought  and  progress.  Harvard  University  is 
pointing  the  way. 

It  would  seem  that  the  school  garden  in  cities  should,  of 
course,  be  a  very  rational  means  of  supplementing  the  study 
of  books,  to  say  nothing  of  its  a:;sthetic  value  in  beautifying 
grounds.  Also  many  of  the  conditions  there  make  it  much 
easier  to  have  successful  school  gardens.  The  school  year 
is  longer,  and  there  are  trained  teachers  with  better  sala- 
ries, teachers  who  have  a  high  appreciation  of  beauty  and 
the  value  of  nature  study  from  nature.  This  sympathetic 
attitude  is  the  result  of  their  Normal  training,  where,  in  a 
course  covering  two  or  three  years,  they  are  told  how,  in 
the  most  effective  manner  and  with  a  minimum  of  "eco- 
nomic waste,"  they  are  to  cultivate  the  child's  "  every  in- 
cipient power."  The  city  child  does  not  come  in  contact 
with  nature  as  does  the  country  child ;  hence  it  is  much 
easier  to  interest  him.  Also  there  is  a  much  more  enlight- 
ened public  sentiment  in  the  cities,  with  their  public  libra- 
ries and  art  galleries.    Public-spirited  men  and  women  give 


SCHOOL  GARDENS  59 

time  and  money  to  encourage  the  return  to  nature.  Per- 
haps there  is  a  greater  need  of  this  in  the  artificial  Ufe  of 
cities.  The  school  garden  is  not  likely  to  suffer  during  dry 
summer  vacations,  for  there  are  the  janitor  and  the  hydrant. 
And  it  is  not  surprising  that  such  cities  as  Boston,  Yonkers, 
Cleveland,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  and  others  should  achieve 
such  great  results  when  there  are  salaried  expert  super- 
visors, who  direct  the  work  even  in  vacation  time.    And 


Fig.  40.    A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1903) 

this  work  is  of  the  highest  educative  value.  Instead  of 
cities  building  larger  jails  and  pointing  with  pride  to  such 
structures  as  the  solution  of  the  bad-boy  problem,  let  more 
money  be  spent  in  farm  schools,  where  the  boy  can  get 
away  from  the  slum  back  to  the  brown  earth.  Garden  work 
is  better  than  "bummin'." 

I  have  before  me  a  late  bulletin  on  the  Philadelphia 
school  gardens.  This  is  a  joint  report  of  the  Civic  Club, 
the  Civic  Betterment  Association,  the  Public  Education 
Association,  and  the  City  Parks  Association.    With  a  single 


6o        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

quotation  from  this  valuable  pamphlet  I  will  drop  all 
consideration  of  the  city-school  garden  and  devote  the 
remainder  of  this  chapter  to  the  garden  in  the  country 
school.    With  reference  to  results  the  report  says  : 

They  [the  gardens]  have  taken  the  children  of  their  neighborhoods 
off  the  street,  even  the  big  boys,  at  that  formative  period  between 
twelve  and  sixteen,  when  so  many  begin  to  go  to  the  bad.  Unless 
there  are  public  playgrounds  and  gardens,  they  have  little  else  to  do. 
The  gardens  have  given  the  children  something  to  think  about  and 
work  over,  and  the  product  of  that  thought  and  work  has  been  gath- 
ered by  each  child  for  his  own.  The  experience  has  taught  them 
that  work  is  worth  something  ;  that  results  come  from  it ;  that  what 
is  taught  in  school  is  not  something  intangible,  "  highfalutin,"  im- 
posed by  some  superior,  earnestly  soulful  person,  who  was  never 
young,  but  instead  is  directly  useful  in  everyday  ways.  Nature  study 
is  changed  from  dry  investigation  of  the  causes  of  plant  growth  into 
a  lively,  careful  and  scientific  observation  of  the  steps  by  which  a 
harvest  is  gradually  prepared. 

It  was  a  happy  thought  to  bring  the  plots  together  in  big  gardens. 
Some  dry-as-dust  pedagogue  might  have  reasoned  from  Jevons's  logic 
that  a  garden  plot  is  a  garden  plot,  even  if  not  alongside  of  others, 
and  so  have  tried  to  induce  each  child  to  have  his  or  her  little  plot  at 
home,  —  logic,  but  not  human  nature.  Competition,  good-fellowship, 
the  desire  for  companionship,  all  contribute  to  the  success  of  the 
school  garden.  The  children  are  drawn  by  other  children.  They  are 
learning  when  they  don't  know  it.  The  open  air  and  sunshine  are 
enabling  them  to  learn,  to  comprehend,  more.  It  is  a  positively  good 
thing  for  their  health  to  get  their  hands  in  good  rich  earth,  —  that  old 
mother  earth  from  which  we  have  all  come.  "  Hands  in  the  earth  " 
is  now  prescribed  by  doctors  as  a  cure  for  lack  of  vitality,  just  as 
fresh  air  and  sunshine  a-plenty  is  prescribed  for  consumption,  and  the 
school  garden  compels  all  three. 

To  contemplate  the  difficulties  in  country-school  garden- 
ing is  to  do  nothing.  I  am  aware  that  the  average  country 
school-teacher  is  not  as  well  trained  as    she   should   be, 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


6i 


and  she  is  generally  underpaid.  The  school  year  is  short. 
The  average  for  the  country  child  in  Illinois  for  1904 
was  ninety-four  days  as  against  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
nine  days  for  the  average  city  child.  This  is  not  what  you 
might  call  an  educational  "square  deal."  Then,  too,  the 
neglect  during  vacation  and  the  indifference  or  hostility 
of  patrons  make  the  problem  of  country-school  gardening 
quite  different  from  that  in  the  cities.  But  a  meek,  sub- 
missive attitude  towards  obstacles  that  may  lie  in  the  way 


»»Ji 

I 

Fig.  41.    A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1903) 

of  "participation"  in  vital  educational  processes  in  doing 
things,  accompanied  with  increased  devotion  to  "'rith- 
metic  and  spellin',"  is  not  putting  the  country  child  into 
sympathetic  and  intelligent  relation  to  his  "material  and 
social  environment."  We  must  be  able  to  figure  and  spell, 
of  course  ;  but  may  we  not  be  optimistic  enough  to  hope 
that  when  we  have  passed  through  the  crude  experimental 
stage  of  country-school  gardening  there  may  result  some 
material  that  will  afford  quite  as  much  value  and  discipline 


62        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

for  the  country  child  as  that  now  acquired  from  his  joyous 
participation  in  alUgation,  foreign  exchange,  and  marine  in- 
surance ?  But  as  a  last  argument  it  is  said  that  country 
children  have  enough  garden  work  at  home.  Yes,  such  as 
it  is.  But  my  observation  leads  me  to  the  conclusion  that 
there  is  vast  room  for  improvement  in  the  home  garden  of 
the  average  American  farmer  ;  and  the  right  kind  of  train- 
ing in  the  experimental  garden  at  school  will  make  the 
child  a  more  efficient  factor  in  the  garden  work  at  home. 
This  has  a  dollar  value,  if  you  must  look  at  education  from 
the  dollar  point  of  view.  But  it  has  a  culture  value  as  well. 
One  purpose  of  the  school  garden  in  the  country  school 
should  be  to  help  in  beautifying  the  grounds.  Flowers 
should  abound,  for  they  are  educators  and  make  us  sen- 
sitive to  all  that  is  lovely,  whether  in  the  field,  along  the 
roadside,  or  in  the  deep  woods.  To  beautify  the  school 
grounds  with  the  flower  garden  does  not  mean  that  all  the 
wild  vines,  wild  shrubs,  or  wild  flowers  are  to  be  eliminated 
and  a  straight  row  of  geraniums  planted  across  the  front  of 
the  yard,  or  a  bed  of  nasturtiums  made  in  the  middle  of  the 
open  space  of  the  school  grounds.  Save  all  that  is  of  a  wild 
nature.  Study  how  nature  plants  and  imitate  her  example. 
Leave  the  open  spaces  for  the  playground  and  plant  along 
the  fences,  walks,  or  at  the  base  of  the  school  building.  I 
visited  one  of  my  schools  recently  where  the  directors  are 
allowing  the  wild  grapevines,  wild  blackberry  and  raspberry, 
wild  flowers,  etc.,  to  flourish.  Thus  a  bit  of  wild  wood- 
land is  available  for  observation  work.  Here  birds  may 
nest  and  sing  their  songs,  and  the  modest  wild  flower  find 
a  refuge  and  protection.  Here  children  may  learn  lessons 
about  animal  and  plant  life  in  a  very  practical  way.  I  vis- 
ited another  school  which  had  some  grand  forest  trees  in 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


63 


the  back  part  of  the  yard,  with  clumps  of  hazel  bush  inter- 
spersed among  them.  The  hazel  had  all  been  cut  down  and 
put  in  neat  piles  ready  for  the  torch.  The  trees  were  still 
standing.  If  fuel  becomes  scarce,  it  will  be  the  proper 
thing,  I  suppose,  to  cut  them  down  for  firewood  and  save 
a  few  dollars  in  taxes  for  a  year  or  two. 

There  is  plenty  of  good  literature  available  for  the  ask- 
ing, which  will  tell  school  officers  and  teachers  what  to 
plant  and    how  to    plant.      "  How  to  set    out  Trees  and 


Fig.  42.    A  School  Garden  at  Home  (1904) 


Shrubbery"  (already  mentioned,  page  47),  by  Dean  L.  H. 
Bailey,  is  a  valuable  pamphlet  published  by  the  YoutJis 
Companion.  There  are  numerous  diagrams  in  it  which  are 
very  suggestive.  I  give  one  quotation  only  to  interest  the 
reader  and  cause  him  to  read  the  entire  pamphlet : 

Next  comes  the  planting.  Let  it  be  irregular  and  natural,  and  repre- 
sent it  by  a  wavy  line.  First  of  all,  cover  up  the  outhouses.  Then 
plant  heavily  on  the  side,  or  in  the  direction  of  the  prevailing  wind. 
Leave  openings  in  your  plan  wherever  there  are  views  to  be  had  of 
fine  old  trees,  attractive  farmhouses,  a  brook,  or  a  beautiful  hill 
or  field.  Throw  a  handful  of  shrubs  into  the  corners,  by  the  steps, 
and  about  the  bare  corners  of  the  building. 


64  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Besides  the  plan  for  improvement  of  the  Seward  school 
ground  (see  Chapter  III),  with  suggested  list  of  trees, 
shrubs,  and  flowers,  as  prepared  by  Professor  Blair,  the 
Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  218  gives  some  most  helpful  sug- 
gestions. This  bulletin,  "  The  School  Garden,"  is  prepared 
by  Professor  L.  C.  Corbett,  Horticulturist,  Bureau  of  Plant 
Industry,  Washington,  D.C.  A  postal  card  will  get  it. 
Eight  pages  of  this  bulletin  are  given  up  to  the  subject 
of  the  decoration  of  school  grounds.  Illustrations  abound 
of  plans  for  planting,  and  of  walks,  lawns,  and  annual 
plants,  trees,  and  shrubs  suitable  for  school  grounds,  with 
cultural  directions.  This  bulletin  should  be  in  the  hands 
of  every  country  teacher  and  school  director  in  our  land. 
At  least,  our  teachers  should  not  plead  ignorance  of  the 
most  valuable  and  helpful  Hterature  along  this  line.  Farm- 
ers' Bulletin  No.  185,  "Beautifying  Home  Grounds,"  is  also 
by  Professor  Corbett.  It  is  valuable,  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  the  country  school-teacher  who  is  not  inspired  by  these 
two  bulletins  and  does  not  do  some  one  thing  to  better  con- 
ditions in  the  average  farm  home  and  country  school  has 
missed  her  calling.  She  (or  he)  is  hired  to  teach  geography 
and  arithmetic  to  boys  and  girls,  but  Professor  Corbett  says 
in  "The  School  Garden"  (Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  218): 

The  plans  of  tlie  grounds  will  serve  as  an  exercise  both  in  geog- 
raphy and  in  arithmetic,  and  if  the  pupils  are  encouraged  to  make 
such  designs,  their  interest  in  the  work  will  be  assured,  and  a  prac- 
tical application  of  the  principles  taught  in  the  schoolroom  will  be  a 
result  of  no  little  value. 

Is  it  possible  that  there  is  educative  material  in  the  en- 
vironment of  the  country  child  that  is  not  found  in  a  text- 
book.? Note  that  Professor  Corbett  says,  "if  the  pupils 
are  encouraged."    Who  is  to  be  the  One  Courageous,  the 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


65 


Leader   Inspirational,  in  this  great  new  true  educational 
uplift  for  the  country  school  ? 

The  second  purpose  of  a  garden  in  the  country  school  is 
to  utilize  it  for  specific  instruction  in  plant  growth  and  soil 
treatment.  If  the  elementary  instruction  in  agriculture  in 
the  country  school  is  to  be  of  any  value,  the  children  must 
do  some  practical  work  instead  of  memorizing  a  few  pages 
of  some  text- 
book, no  matter 
how  fascinat- 
ingly it  may  be 
written.  A 
school  garden,  if 
only  a  bed  four 
feet  by  six  feet, 
under  the  direc- 
tion of  an  ear- 
nest, enthusiastic 
teacher,  will 
afford  an  excel- 
lent field  for 
training  children  in  experimental  and  observation  work. 
A  farmer  of  the  future  in  Illinois,  who  expects  to  make 
five  per  cent  clear  profit  on  an  investment  in  land  costing 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  per  acre,  will  have  to 
do  some  thinking  ;  and  the  place  for  the  thinking  to  begin 
is  in  the  district  school.  Our  higher  institutions  of  agri- 
cultural instruction  are  discovering  much  that  will  be  of 
great  value  to  the  future  farmer.  The  problem  is  how  to 
make  this  expert  knowledge  available  for  the  country  child. 
The  school  experimental  garden  promises  much,  if  teachers 
and  school  ofificers  will  cooperate  ivitJi  the  children. 


Fig.  43.    A  School  Garden  at  the  Seward 
ConsoUdated  School  (1904) 


66        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Notice  that  I  said  an  "earnest"  and  "enthusiastic" 
teacher.  Of  course  it  would  be  better  if  she  were  "  well- 
trained"  also.  A  boy,  if  "earnest"  and  "enthusiastic,"  will 
learn  to  swim  if  you  will  only  let  him  get  into  the  water. 
If  we  wait  till  the  boys  receive  scientific  directions  at  some 
swimming  school  before  they  go  near  the  river,  not  many 
of  them  will  ever  learn  to  swim.  This  accomplishment, 
however,  may  not  be  essential  to  the  man's  success  in  life. 
There  does  come  a  time  when  most  of  us  must  either  sink 
or  swim,  regardless  of  rules  or  formulas.  My  point  is  that, 
if  we  wait  till  all  the  country  school-teachers  know  all  about 
plant  growth  or  soil  before  they  attempt  a  garden,  the  prob- 
abilities are  that  the  harvest  will  be  over  and  the  summer 
ended  before  they  get  ready  to  dig  and  plant.  This  is  what 
I  would  say  to  teachers  :  The  thing  7iow  to  do  is  to  dig  and 
plant  and  to  learn  by  doing  these  very  things  with  the 
children.  This  will  reveal  to  you  your  limitations,  and  if 
you  have  the  spirit  of  the  true  teacher  and  mean  business, 
you  will  find  a  way  to  attend  a  summer  session  for  country 
teachers  such  as  the  University  of  Illinois  conducted  for 
the  first  time  in  June,  1905.  To  be  sure,  it  is  easier  to 
sit  in  the  schoolroom  and  hear  the  children  call  over  the 
words  in  McGuffey's  reader,  the  one  you  used  when  you 
were  a  pupil  a  few  short  years  ago.  But  are  you  seeking 
the  easiest  or  the  best  thing  to  do .? 

The  movement  to  instruct  our  children  in  the  simplest 
facts  with  reference  to  the  science  of  agriculture  will  be 
a  failure  if  confined  to  a  printed  page.  A  school  garden 
affords  opportunity  for  watching  the  growth  of  plant  life, 
and  at  the  same  time  teaches  one  how  to  treat  the  soil  so 
as  to  retain  moisture  in  case  of  drought,  how  to  remove 
injurious  insects  from  plants,  how  to  know  the  proper  time 


SCHOOL  GARDENS  67 

to  harvest,  and  many  other  things  pertaining  to  agriculture. 
Good  reference  books  and  bulletins  of  the  state  experiment 
station  should  be  found  in  every  country-school  library. 
Inhere  is  no  excuse  for  not  having  the  bulletins,  since  they 
may  be  had  for  the  asking.  But  these  are  not  the  only 
things  needed,  nor  indeed  are  they  of  first  importance. 
The  first  and  most  important  thing,  it  seems  to  me,  is  for 
each  child  to  plant  a  seed  of  some  kind  and  begin  to  care 
for  a  plant.  To  do  this  is  to  come  in  contact  with  nature 
in  a  practical  and  sympathetic  way  that  cannot  be  attained 
through  books.  The  Honorable  JamesWilson,  United  States 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  says  : 

The  young  farmer  attending  the  district  school  could  readily  be 
taught  what  a  phint  gets  from  the  soil  and  what  it  gets  from  the  air. 
The  several  grasses  could  be  planted,  and  their  office  in  filling  the 
soil  with  humus,  enabling  the  soil  to  retain  moisture,  could  be  ex- 
plained. The  legumes  —  peas,  beans,  clover,  and  alfalfa  —  could  be 
grown  in  the  schoolhouse  yard,  and  during  recess  or  at  the  noon  hour 
the  teacher  could  interest  the  students  by  digging  up  a  young  pea  or 
clover  root  and  showing  the  nodules,  whose  office  it  is  to  bring  free 
nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere  and  fix  it  in  the  soil. 

The  best  way  to  have  a  school  garden  is  to  have  it.  To 
be  sure,  there  is  inertia  to  overcome  and  prejudice.  We 
get  so  in  the  habit  of  doing  nothing,  and  our  success  in 
this  direction  is  so  phenomenal,  that  it  requires  some  energy 
to  make  a  new  departure.  We  are  afraid  that  people  wall 
say:  "The  school  garden !  — another  fad.  It 's  all  froth  and 
contrary  to  the  sacred  course  of  study."  But  if  we  wait 
till  every  one  agrees  with  us,  no  progress  will  ever  be  made. 
The  guiding  principle  should  be,  "Is  the  thing  right  and 
expedient .''  "  If  so,  make  an  effort  to  do  it,  and  in  such  a 
way  as  to  show  results,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  difiQ- 
culties  to  be  overcome. 


68 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


There  are  to-day  a  hundred  thousand  school  gardens 
in  Europe,  and  the  progress  of  the  recent  movement  in 
America  is  encouraging,  as  many  of  the  leaders  in  educa- 
tional matters  show  a  disposition  to  look  upon  this  study 
as  the  basis  and  beginning  of  all  nature  work.  This  is  the 
case  in  other  countries,  among  them  Russia,  where  no 
school  can  receive  state  funds  unless  it  has  a  garden  con- 
nected with  it.  The  idea  is  a  sound  and  healthy  one,  since 
skty-five  per  cent  of  our  exports  are  farm  products  ;  yet 


Fig.  44.    A  Desolate  Schoolhouse 

thousands  of  children  grow  up  without  knowing  anything 
at  all  of  agriculture. 

School  gardens  began  with  us  in  1903.  At  my  request 
a  plan  or  model  garden  was  prepared  by  Professor  J.  C. 
Blair,  Horticulturist  of  the  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture. 
I  think  it  a  good  thing  to  put  our  country  teachers  in  touch 
with  the  state  College  of  Agriculture  and  to  get  the  chil- 
dren, and  through  them  the  parents,  to  begin  to  read  and 
think  about  the  most  important,  perhaps,  of  our  state  insti- 
tutions, namely  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  the  work 
of  the  experiment  station.  So  we  call  on  the  various  de- 
partments for  help,  and  are  making  an  effort  to  have  all  the 
principal  bulletins  form  a  part  of  the  country-school  library. 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


69 


The  model  designed  by  Professor  Blair  called  for  a  gar- 
den twelve  feet  by  thirty-six  feet.  I  believe  this  is  too 
large  to  begin  with,  especially  if  the  school  has  but  eight 
or  twelve  pupils.  The  size  is  left  to  the  judgment  of  the 
teacher.  For  three  years  now  between  seventy  and  eighty 
districts  in  Winnebago  County  have  been  doing  garden 
work  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  as  the  illustrations  in  this 
chapter  will  show.  We  do  not  claim  for  these  plots  of 
ground  results  equal   to  those  attained  in  the  great  city 


Fig.  45.    A  Farm  Home  near  the  Desolate  Schoolhouse 

garden,  with  its  expert  supervision  and  trained  teachers ; 
but  we  claim  that  the  spirit  of  the  movement  is  all  right, 
and  what  has  been  already  accomplished  affords  no  cause 
for  discouragement  or  regret  for  the  undertaking.  It  takes 
time  to  create  sentiment  for  what  is  really  worth  while  ; 
and  to  make  the  school  garden  a  permanent  educational 
factor,  the  experiments  must  continue  until  the  present 
school  children  become  the  teachers  and  school  officers  of 
the  great  to-morrow. 

The  plan  prepared  by  Professor  Blair  was  made  the  sub- 
ject of  a  week's  study  at  the  annual  teachers'  institute, 
which  is  always  held  in  March.    Thus  the  teachers  can  at 


^o 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


once  put  into  practice  what  they  have  learned  without  wait- 
ing for  six  months  to  elapse  before  seeding  time  comes. 
The  teachers  and  children  have  had  to  contend  with  dry 
weather,  with  the  untamed  character  of  the  soil,  and  with 
the  timidity  that  naturally  goes  with  original  experimental 
work  not  laid  down   in  the    school    text-book    of    sacred 


Fig.  46.    A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1905) 

reliance.  But,  as  said  above,  to  contemplate  the  difficulties 
of  school  gardening  is  to  do  nothing. 

Stereopticon  lectures  have  been  given  at  our  teachers'  in- 
stitutes on  the  subject  of  school  gardens,  and  the  teachers 
thus  catch  the  spirit  of  what  progress  is  being  made  all 
over  the  country. 

The  agricultural  editor  of  the  Bloomington  (Illinois) 
PantagmpJi  inspected  some  of  our  first  attempts  at  gar- 
dening in  1903,  and  reported  as  follows  in  the  columns  of 
that  paper : 

The  real  measure  of  the  work  is  not  in  pecks  of  potatoes  and  num- 
ber of  blossoms,  — not  in  the  commercial  value  of  the  products,  but 


SCHOOL  GARDENS  7 I 

in  its  educative  value  to  the  child.  A  real  beginning  has  been  made, 
a  jreneral  beginninc;,  a  uniform  beginning,  and  this  counts  for  a  great 
deal.  The  thought  and  the  work  have  been  started  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. It  will  be  comparatively  easy  to  increase  the  size  and  number 
of  the  gardens,  the  quantity  and  show  of  the  products.  It  is  only 
necessary  to  keep  the  matter  moving  next  year  and  next. 

The  spirit  of  the  work  and  the  trend  of  public  opinion  seem  to  be 
of  the  favorable  sort.  And  if  this  outdoor  art  makes  as  marked  a 
transformation  in  the  school  premises  as  has  been  accomplished 
inside  the  schoolroom  by  the  campaign  for  comfort,  cleanliness,  sani- 
tary conditions,  paint,  proper  wall  colors,  pictures  and  their  artistic 
arrangement,  libraries,  organs,  enthusiasm,  etc..  everybody  will  wel- 
come it,  fad  or  no  fad.  With  such  precedents  in  the  accomplished 
fact  of  indoor  improvements,  and  with  such  marked  cooperation  of 
teachers  and  pupils  and  patrons  in  this  first  season's  work  for  school 
gardens,  the  outlook  for  their  rapid  development  and  complete  suc- 
cess is  good. 

Doubtless  there  are  teachers  who  wish  suggestive  out- 
Hnes  for  school  garden  work.  The  following  outlines  were 
prepared  by  a  highly  competent  teacher  in  the  Rockford 
(Illinois)  High  School  and  used  in  the  Winnebago  County 
Annual  Teachers'  Institute,  March,  1903. 

The  School  Garden   (General) 

I.   Diagram  of  the  school  garden  (see  page  77). 
II.   Present  acquaintance  with  the  plants  of  this  garden. 
Of  which  plants  can  you  recognize  : 

1 .  The  seed  ? 

2.  The  seedling  plant  and  how  it  comes  up  ? 

3.  The  blossom  apart  from  the  plant? 

If  edible,  what  structure  is  used  for  food? 
III.   Plant  relationships  illustrated  in  the  school  garden. 

1.  The    monocotvledons :    how    characterized;    families    repre- 

sented (grass  family,  lily  family). 

2.  The  dicotvledons  :  how  characterized  ;  leading  families. 


72        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

IV.  Soil :  kinds  of  soil ;  type  represented  in  garden. 

1.  Contrast  lumpy   and  fine    soils  as  to  capacity   for  holding 

moisture. 

2.  How  the  plant  gets  food  from  the  soil. 

3.  Conditions   for  germination  and  preparation  of  the  soil  to 

fulfill  these. 

4.  Cultivation  after  plant  is  established. 

5.  Surface  and  deep  tillage;  relation  of  root  system  to  tillage. 

6.  Depth  to  which  roots  penetrate  in  well-prepared  soil.    How 

smother  the  roots  ? 

7.  The  plant  foods  supplied  through  soil  water. 

V.  Propagation  of  plants. 

1.  Seeds. 

2.  Vegetative  reproduction,  illustrated  by  bulbs,  tubers,  cuttings, 

etc.  Contrast  the  two  modes.  Which  of  the  food  crops 
are  grown  from  seed,  and  which  by  vegetative  reproduc- 
tion?   Which  is  our  chief  reliance  in  agriculture  ? 

3.  Study  of  the  potato. 

a.  Food  supply  in  tuber  compared  with  that  in  seed.    Nature 

of  food. 

b.  Modification  due  to  underground  habit. 

c.  Advantages  of  underground  habit. 

d.  From   what  parts  do  the  roots  of  a   potato    plant   first 

spring  ? 

e.  Do  the  tubers  grow  above  the  roots  or  below  them  ? 

f.  Are  the  tubers  produced  on  roots  or  on  stems  ? 

^.  When  in  the  life  of  the  plant  do  the  tubers  begin  to  form? 

h.  Does  one  stalk  ever  bear  more  than  one  tuber  ? 

/.    Do  these  stalks  increase  in  length  or  diameter  after  the 

tuber  begins  to  form  ? 
j.  How  many  kinds  of  stems  has  the  potato  ? 
k.  Distinguish  the  feeding  roots  from  the  underground  stems. 

4.  Experimental  work. 

a.  Plant  potatoes  at  different  depths,  from  just  under  the  sur- 

face to  four  inches.    Which  method  gives  best  results  ? 

b.  Use  seed  pieces  of  varying  sizes,  from  those  with  no  eye 

up  to  the  whole  potato. 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


73 


c.  Any  difference  in  value  of  cutting  from  stem  to  stem  end 

and  bud  end  ? 

d.  Which  is  better,  one  large  piece  or  several  small  ones  ? 

e.  What  is  the  order  of  sprouting  of  the  eyes  ? 

f.  How  prevent  potato  scab? 


Study  of  the  Seed 

I.  External  structure  :  hilum  (the  scar)  ;  micropyle  (little  opening)  ; 
coats,  texture,  function. 

II.  Embryo:  cotyledons  (seed  leaves);  caulicle  (little  stem);  hypo- 
cotyl  (part  of  the  caulicle  below  the  cotyledons);  plumule 
(little  bud). 

III.  Food  supply:  where  stored;  relative  amount ;  tests  for  starch, 
oil,  proteid. 


KiNus  OF  Seeds 

Bean- 

Squash 

Sun- 
flower 

MORNING- 
CiLORY 

I.   Sketch    showing    external 
features     (name     hilum 
and  micropyle) 

2.  Texture  of  coats 

3.  Sketch  embrjo  laid  open, 
and  name  parts 

4.  Texture  of  cotyledons 

5.  Character  of  food;  where 
stored 

Development  of  plumule 

74 


IV. 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Escape  of  parts. 

1.  Problems  to  be  solved  by  the  seed. 

a.  Extrication  of  parts  from  the  seed  coats. 

b.  Getting  the  first  root  started  downward  and  fixed  in  the 

soil. 

c.  Getting  the  stem  started  upward  out  of  the  soil  and  into 

the  light  without  injuring  the  young  leaves. 

2.  Behavior  while  germinating. 

a.  First  visible  phenomena.    Illustrate  differences  in  hard- 
ness by  cutting  dry  seeds  and  soaked  ones.    Increase  in 


Fig.  47.   A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1905) 


size.    Sketch  (i)  dry  bean,  natural  size  ;    (2)  bean  show- 
ing wrinkling  of  coats  (explain  how  this  helps  in  the 
extrication  of  parts  from  the  coat);    (3)  soaked  bean 
when  coat  fits  smoothly  once  more. 
Experiment  showing  expansive  power  of  germinating  seeds. 

a.  First  part  to  appear.    From  what  part  of  the  seed  does  it 

come?    Advantage  in  being  pointed  at  the  tip. 

b.  Direction  taken  by  the  root  when  it  comes  out.    Observe 

direction  taken  by  seeds  placed  in  different  positions  in 
the  germinator.  Change  the  position  of  tlie  seeds.  Is 
there  any  advantage  to  the  plant  in  having  the  first  root 
grow  downward  ? 

c.  Growth  of  root.    Where  does  it  take  place  ? 

d.  Growth  of  stem.    Where  does  it  take  place  ? 

e.  Direction  of  growth  of  root  and  stem. 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


75 


f.  What  part  of  the  root  bends  when  it  turns  from  the  hori- 

zontal position  ? 

g.  If  the  tip  is  removed,  will  the  root  turn? 

//.   Part  first  appearing  above  the  surface.    Reason  for  the 
manner  in  which  the  soil  is  penetrated  by  the  rising  stem. 
/'.  How  the  embryo  extricates  itself  from  its  coats. 
j.  Turning  upward  of  the  stem  in  the  older  seedlings. 


Sti:uy  of  Parts 

Bean 

Squash 

Morning- 
glory 

Pea 

Corn 

I.  Part     first      appearing 
above  the  surface 

2.  How  break  through  the 
soil  ? 

3.  What  parts  extricated  ; 
from  coats  ? 

4.  How    extricated    from 
coats .' 

5.   Do  the  cotyledons  rise 
above  ground? 

6.  Changes  in  cotyledons 
as  growth  continues 

Conditions  for  germination. 

The  variance  in  conditions  each  time  should  involve  but  a  single 
factor. 

1.  Germination  dependent  upon  moisture. 

a.  Blotting  paper,  wet  and  dry. 

b.  Sawdust,  wet  and  dry. 

c.  Good  soil,  wet  and  dry. 

2.  Germination  as  dependent  upon  heat.    Plant  seeds  in  two  pots 

containing  similar  conditions,  but  keep  one  indoors,  the  other 
outside.    Try  with  (i)  loam  soil ;  (2)  clay  soil  ;  (3)  sand. 

3.  Germination  as  dependent  on  light.    Keep  soil  moisture  and 

heat  constant,  but  place  one  pot  in  the  light  and  the  other 
in  the  dark. 


^6        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

The  above  represents  most  of  the  study  for  three  days 
at  the  institute.  In  addition  there  was  an  outline  for  one 
day's  work  on  trees  and  one  day's  work  on  birds. 

In  Vol.  VI,  Part  III,  of  the  Proceedmgs  of  the  Ainer-, 
ican  Park  and  Outdoor  Art  Association,  published  March, 
1903  (Charles  Mulford  Robinson,  Secretary,  65  South 
Washington  Street,  Rochester,  New  York),  is  a  very  valuable 
bibliography  of  the  school-garden  movement  in  the  United 
States.    The  list  of  articles  is  too  long  to  reproduce  here. 

Circular  No.  52  (revised  by  Dick  Crosby),  issued  by 
the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  (A.  C.  True,  Director) 


W§k 

\^^^m 

^^K£kiflB  ^^  1 

1 

fe^isi 

miP^R 

***^H^J- 

^^-il-i^raBHBrKeMR^iT-' 

^jp^f^ 

P'lG.  48.    A  School  Garden  in  Winnebago  County  (1905) 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.C.,  contains  a  list  of  a  few  good  books  and  bulletins  on 
nature  study,  school  gardening,  and  elementary  agriculture 
for  the  common  schools.  A  postal  card  will  get  this  valuable 
little  circular.  For  the  teacher  or  school  officer  who  wants  to 
know  about  the  school-garden  movement  there  is  abundant 
valuable  material  now  available  and  the  supply  is  increasing. 
At  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  last  year  there  was  a  corre- 
lation chart  on  garden  work,  showing  how  garden  work 
outdoors  and  indoors  may  correlate  with  the  regular  work 
of  the  school.    This  chart  was  a  part  of  the  educational 


TA  Avenues  and  IValks      ^,  ,,^^    ,  ■*: 


^  ' 


Boys'  Campus 

I 
I 

d    if 
±.xperimental    Fdots        * 


8  "^  1^?^  I 


Fig.  49.   Outline  Plan  of  a  Macdonald  School  Garden, 
Bowesville,  Ontario,  Canada 


77 


78        AMONO  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

exhibit  of  the  Hyannis,  Massachusetts,  Normal  School.  It 
was  reproduced  in  the  pamphlet  on  Philadelphia  school 
gardens  mentioned  in  the  first  of  this  chapter. 

True,  if  we  could  have  such  gardens  as  the  Macdonald 
school  gardens  of  Canada,  better  results  would  be  obtained. 
If  millionaires  of  the  United  States  would  find  it  possible 
to  do  as  this  man  is  doing,  —  doing  something  for  the  coun- 
try child,  —  a  great  educational  uplift  would  come  to  the 
agricultural  interests  of  our  country  and,  in  fact,  to  all 
country-school  work. 

These  gardens  were  started  in  the  spring  of  1904  in  the 
provinces  of  Ontario,  Quebec,  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick, 
and  Prince  Edward  Island.  They  are  associated  with  Sir 
William  Macdonald's  plan  for  the  improvement  of  the 
schools  of  Canada,  and  are  a  notable  feature  of  the  general 
scheme  of  Professor  James  W.  Robertson,  director  of  the 
Macdonald  educational  movement.  Since  these  gardens 
are  a  factor  in  an  educational  movement,  they  have  been 
placed  under  the  Department  of  Education  in  each  province, 
and  not  under  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  councils 
in  the  various  provinces  have  passed  orders  incorporating 
the  Macdonald  gardens  into  the  various  educational  systems. 
This  places  the  gardens  on  a  broader  basis  than  in  Europe 
or  in  any  other  country.  They  are  attached  to  the  ordinary 
country  schools  and  are  controlled  by  the  local  school 
authorities  and  by  the  taxpayers.  The  gardens  vary  in  size 
from  one  acre  to  three  acres  or  more.  In  general,  the  cost  of 
maintaining  them  for  three  years  is  met  by  the  Macdonald 
fund,  as  are  also  the  expenses  of  the  traveling  instructor. 

From  a  report  on  the  Macdonald  school  gardens  for  the 
county  of  Carleton,  Ontario,  issued  by  R.  H.  Cowley, 
Inspector  of  Public  Schools,  the  following  is  taken  : 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


79 


While  the  plan  of  laying  out  the  gardens  varies  according  to  soil, 
surface,  and  location,  the  accompanying  outline  of  tlie  Bowesville 
garden  suggests  the  general  features  that  have  been  kept  in  view. 
These  include  a  belt  of  ornamental  native  trees  and  shrubs  surround- 
ing the  grounds ;  two  walks  each,  about  one  hundred  yards  long, 
between  rows  of  trees  ;  a  playground  about  half  an  acre  in  area  tor 
the  boys  ;  a  lawn  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  acre  for  the  girls,  bordered 
with  some  light  and  graceful  shade,  such  as  cut-leaf  birch  ;  a  small 
orchard,  in  which  are  grown  a  few  varieties  of  the  fruit  trees  most 
profitable  to  the  district  ;   a  forest  plot,  in  which  the  most  important 


■  -''^i_'^* 

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Fig.  50.    A  Model  for  a  Country  School 


Canadian  trees  will  be  grown  from  seed  and  by  transplanting  ;  a  plot 
for  cultivating  the  wild  herbs,  vines,  and  shrubs  of  the  district  ;  space 
for  individual  plots  and  special  experimental  plots  :  an  attractive 
approach  to  the  school,  including  open  lawn,  large  flowering  plants, 
foliage,  rockery,  ornamental  shrubs,  etc. 

The  special  experimental  plots  are,  as  a  rule,  larger  than  the 
individual  plots.  They  are  used  for  such  purposes  as  the  study  of 
rotation  of  crops,  values  of  fertilizers,  effects  of  spraying,  selection  of 
seeds,  merits  of  soils,  productiveness  and  quality  of  different  varieties 
of  crop.s,  and  many  other  similar  subjects.  At  one  school  a  special 
study  was  made  of  corn,  clover,  tomatoes,  and  cabbage  ;  at  another 


8o        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

beans,  peas,  beets,  and  potatoes  occupied  the  experimental  plots ;  at 
still  another  some  extra  attention  was  given  to  plots  of  pumpkins, 
squash,  cabbage,  and  cauliflower.  At  all  the  gardens  special  plots  will 
be  devoted  to  small  fruits,  such  as  strawberries,  raspberries,  goose- 
berries, currants.  The  experimental  plots  vary  in  area  from  two 
hundred  to  two  thousand  square  feet,  but  where  the  quantity  of 
ground  is  restricted  the  experiments  may  be  successfully  carried  out 
on  plots  of  a  much  smaller  average  size. 

With  reference  to  the  place  of  the  garden  m  school  work 
the  report  says  : 

The  work  of  the  garden  is  recognized  as  a  legitimate  part  of  the 
school  programme,  and  is  interwoven  already  with  a  considerable  part 
of  the  other  studies.  The  garden  is  becoming  the  outer  class  room  of 
the  school,  and  the  plots  are  its  blackboards.  The  garden  is  not  an 
innovation,  or  an  excrescence,  or  an  addendum,  or  a  diversion.  It  is  a 
happy  field  of  expression,  an  organic  part  of  the  school  in  which  boys 
and  girls  work  among  growing  things  and  grow  themselves  in  body 
and  mind  and  spiritual  outlook. 

Of  the  advantages,  the  following  summary  only  is  given 
here  : 

1.  Educationally  it  affords  a  release  from  the  dull  routine  of  the 
schoolroom  and  puts  the  pupil  out  into  the  fresh  air  and  sunlight. 
It  is  a  means  of  help  by  affording  scope  for  motor  activities  that  are 
natural  to  growing  children.  The  garden  work  is  correlated  with  much 
of  the  formal  work  of  the  school,  such  as  arithmetic,  reading,  composi- 
tion, drawing,  etc.  It  serves  as  an  introduction  to  the  development  of 
literary  appreciation,  as  the  "  ability  to  appreciate  the  charm  of  many 
of  the  best  poems  depends  not  a  little  on  ability  to  form  visual  images 
of  natural  objects."  In  this  respect,  if  the  tsacher  in  the  country  school 
is  alert,  the  country  child  has  the  advantage  over  the  city  child  ;  for 
"the  urban  eye  of  the  town-bred  child,  who  has  never  been  interested 
in  garden  or  field,  must  fail  to  catch  the  imagery  of  our  best  nature 
poems." 

2.  Economically  the  school  garden  teaches  the  composition  and 
care  of  the  soil,  the  best  conditions  for  plant  life,  the  value  of  fertil- 
izers, seed  selection,  and  the  like. 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


8i 


3.  Nationally  the  school  garden  develops  an  interest  in  the  funda- 
mental industry  of  the  country.  There  develops  the  sense  of  owner- 
ship and  respect  for  property.  "  In  the  care  of  their  own  plots  the 
pupils  fight  common  enemies  and  learn  that  a  bad  weed  in  a  neglected 
plot  may  make  trouble  for  many  others.  The  garden  is  a  pleasant 
avenue  of  communication  between  the  school  and  the  home,  relating 
them  in  a  new  and  living  way,  and  thereby  strengthening  the  public 
interest  in  the  school  as  a  national  institution." 

One  more  quotation  must  be  giv'en  with  reference  to  the 
school  garden  during  vacation  : 

The  general  adoption  of  school  gardens  may  naturally  bring  about 
a  desire  to  keep  the  rural  schools  open  all  summer,  closing  them  in 
the  winter  when  the  roads  are  worst  and  the  weather  severe.    The 


Fig.  51.    Another  Model  for  a  Country  School 

conveying  of  pupils  to  consolidated  schools  may  also  help  to  induce 
an  arrangement  of  this  kind.  In  the  meantime  there  is  no  insurmount- 
able difficulty  or  very  serious  problem  in  keeping  the  school  garden 
decent  during  the  long  summer  vacation.  Even  if  the  garden  were 
to  deteriorate  from  neglect  during  holidays,  the  fact  would  be  of 
altogether  minor  consecjuence  against  school  gardens,  since  a  well- 
ordered  pupil  rather  than  a  well-ordered  garden  is  the  supreme  end  of 
it  all.  If  the  pupils  do  not  provide  for  their  plots  during  vacation,  by 
all  means  let  the  weeds  grow.    The  worst  possible  mistake  in  such  a 


82         AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

case  would  be  to  pay  a  janitor  or  some  otlier  person  to  take  care  of 
the  plots  for  indifferent  and  unmindful  pupils.  At  some  school  gardens 
in  Carleton  County  last  summer  some  pupils  returned  after  vacation  to 
weed-choked  plots  in  which  their  flowers  and  vegetables  compared  very 
unfavorably  with  those  of  their  more  diligent  companions.  Their  silent 
observation  of  tiiis  fact,  and  their  strenuous  efforts  to  redeem  their 
plots,  impressed  upon  them  a  lesson  of  moral  and  material  value. 

Aside  from  the  school-garden  work  in  Winnebago  County, 
Illinois,  for  the  past  three  years,  other  counties  in  Illinois 
report  as  follows : 

Marion  has  ten  school  gardens  ;  ten  per  cent  of  the  schools  in 
McHenry  County  have  gardens  ;  Coles  County  had  a  garden  of  one 
acre  for  a  graded  school ;  Peoria  County  had  twenty-five  gardens 
in  country  schools ;  Griggsville,  Pike  County,  has  had  a  garden  for 
several  years  ;  and  mention  must  be  made  of  the  school  garden  of 
the  Cottage  Grove  school  near  Springfield.  Mention  of  the  work 
of  this  country  school,  with  illustrations  of  the  work  of  the  children, 
is  made  in  the  chapter  on  manual  training. 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  see  the  interest  that  normal  schools 
are  taking  with  reference  to  school  gardens.  It  would  make 
this  chapter  too  long  to  give  even  a  brief  account  of  all 
that  is  being  done  by  these  institutions  for  the  training 
of  teachers.  Only  the  work  of  two  will  be  noticed  here, 
namely,  the  movement  at  the  Eastern  Illinois  Normal 
School  at  Charleston  and  that  at  the  Central  Illinois  Nor- 
mal School  at  Normal. 

Professor  Otis  W.  Caldwell,  instructor  in  botany  at  the 
Charleston  Normal  School,  has  issued  a  valuable  bulletin 
on  the  school  garden,  well  illustrated.  This  bulletin  is  val- 
uable because  its  contents  are  not  based  on  theory  alone. 
For  several  years  a  successful  school  garden  has  been  car- 
ried on  at  this  normal  school.  Speaking  of  the  garden  in 
connection  with  the  country  school,  Mr.  Caldwell  says  : 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


83 


In  rural  schools  it  will  probably  be  found  desirable  to  grow  things 
that  require  least  care  during  vacation,  —  shrubbery  and  such  things 
in  general  as  will  serve  to  beautify  the  school  ground,  rather  than  the 
economic  plants  that  are  of  greater  relative  significance  educationally 
to  the  pupils  of  the  city  schools.  But  besides  these  there  should 
be  some  beds  of  flowering 
plants,  and  these  should  not 
be  allowed  to  suffer  from 
lack  of  attention.  It  should 
be  an  easy  matter  to  find 
in  the  neighborhood  school 
officers  or  young  people  in- 
terested enough  in  the  school 
ground  to  give  the  small  care 
requisite  to  caring  for  these 
things  during  the  vacation 
time.  In  some  localities 
there  are  magnificent  farm- 
houses and  barns  standing 
in  beautifully  kept  plots,  em- 
phasizing the  fact  that  the 
places  where  children  are 
educated  are  ugly  with  weeds 
and  general  negligence.  A 
little  care  given  to  the  school 
ground    during   vacation 

would  enable  teachers  and  pupils  to  make  it  beautiful  and  useful  during 
school  days.  The  lack  of  proper  care  during  vacation  time  should  not 
be  used  as  an  argument  against  any  proper  use  during  the  days  of  school. 

It  has  been  my  great  pleasure  to  inspect  the  gardens  at 
the  Central  Normal  School  at  Normal.  If  any  one  is  in 
doubt  about  the  place  of  the  school  garden  in  a  system  of 
education,  his  doubts  must  be  removed  after  visiting  this 
place  and  listening  to  an  explanation  by  President  Felmley 
as  the  various  plots  are  visited.  In  this  way  you  catch  the 
spirit  and  significance  that  you  cannot  get  by  reading  an 


Fig.  52.    Trees  set  out  in  1905 


84 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


account  of  it.  President  Felmley  has  issued  an  excellent 
bulletin  on  "Agriculture  and  Horticulture  in  the  Rural 
School."  In  this  publication  is  described  the  school-garden 
idea  as  it  is  at  his  school.    One  quotation  is  sufficient  to  show 

the  author's  ideal. 

The  special  instruc- 
tion offered  in  this  line 
is  not  merely  to  train 
skillful  farmers.  It  is 
quite  important  that 
farmer  boys  and  girls 
learn  to  appreciate  and 
love  the  country.  There 
need  be  here  no  divi- 
sion in  material  or 
method.  The  knowl- 
edge of  soil  and  atmos- 
phere, of  plant  and 
animal  life,  that  makes 
him  an  intelligent  pro- 
ducer puts  him  in  sym- 
pathetic touch  with 
these  activities  of 
nature.  If  the  farmer 
as  he  trudges  down  the 
corn  rows  under  the  June  sun  sees  only  clods  and  weeds  and  corn,  he 
leads  an  empty  and  a  barren  life.  But  if  he  knows  of  the  work  of  the 
moisture  in  air  and  soil,  of  the  use  of  air  to  root  and  leaf,  of  the  myste- 
rious chemistry  of  the  sunbeam,  of  the  vital  forces  in  the  growing  plant, 
of  the  bacteria  in  the  soil  liberating  its  elements  of  fertility ;  if  he 
sees  all  the  relation  of  all  these  natural  forces  to  his  own  work ;  if  he 
can  follow  his  crop  to  the  market,  to  foreign  lands,  to  the  mill,  to  the 
oven  and  the  table ;  if  he  knows  of  the  hundreds  of  commercial  prod- 
uctsobtained  from  his  corn  or  the  animals  that  it  fattens,  he  then  realizes 
that  he  is  no  mere  toiler;  he  is  marshaling  the  hosts  of  the  universe, 
and  upon  the  skill  of  his  generalship  depends  the  life  of  the  nations. 


Fig.  53.    Nature  Study 


CHAPTER  V 

INDOOR   ART   AND    DECORATION 

One  article  of  the  Teacher's  Creed  given  in  Chapter  II 
is  as  follows  :  "  I  believe  in  beauty  in  the  schoolroom, 
in  the  home,  in  daily  life,  and  out  of  doors."  An  attempt 
has  been  made  in  Chapters  III  and  IV  to  show  the  value 
and  the  means  of  securing  beauty  in  the  outdoor  life  as  far 
as  the  surroundings  of  the  school  are  concerned.  The  aim 
of  Chapters  V  and  VI  will  be  to  point  out  some  practical 
things  to  be  done  in  order  to  secure  a  corresponding  condition 
affecting  the  indoor  life  of  the  children  in  country  schools. 

It  seems  an  almost  impassable  gulf  from  the  modern 
sanitary  city-school  building,  with  its  beautiful  but  simple 
architectural  proportions,  to  the  ugly,  unsanitary,  box-car 
structure  of  a  building  that  has  stood  for  over  forty  years 
in  so  many  country  districts.  In  the  character  of  the  build- 
ing may  be  found  one  reason  why  so  many  country  children 
are  paying  tuition  in  city  schools. 

It  is  true  that  better  work  may  be  done  in  a  dilapidated 
country-school  building  than  is  done  in  the  best  up-to-date 
city  building.  But  the  likelihood  is  that  poorer  work  will  be 
done  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
educational  influence  of  surroundings  ;  for  the  records  do 
not  show  that  live,  enthusiastic,  well-trained  teachers  are 
rushing  to  the  neglected  country-school  building  for  a  sal- 
ary ranging  from  twenty-four  to  forty  dollars  per  month  for 
a  year  of  five  to  eight  months. 


86        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

But  a  better  day  is  coming  for  the  country  child.  A  cen- 
tral building  to  take  the  place  of  the  time-honored  but 
worn-out  district  schoolhouses  will  give  some  help  ;  but  con- 
solidation will  come  slowly,  and  in  the  meantime  we  cannot 
sit  and  dream.  Duty  demands  that  something  be  done  for 
the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  boys  and  girls  now  sitting 
amid  forlorn  surroundings.  Just  what  that  something  shall 
be  will,  of  course,  vary  with  the  prevailing  conditions  in  the 
various  districts. 

It  would  be  a  fine  thing  if,  in  every  district,  we  could  have 
an  ideal  school  board  that  would  provide  ideal  conditions  so 
that  first-class  work  could  be  done  by  teachers  and  children 
from  the  first  to  the  last  of  the  school  term.  But  the  aver- 
age school  director  is  about  the  same  in  educational  ideals 
as  the  community  he  represents.  A  great  work  needs  to 
be  done  to  create  a  higher  public  sentiment  among  the 
country  people  as  a  whole.  The  county  superintendent  of 
schools  can  do  much  in  this  direction,  and  his  most  power- 
ful aids  are  the  camera  and  the  printing  press  ;  but  in  an 
educational  campaign  of  this  character  the  results  will  come 
slowly.  The  best  results  will  come  when  the  children  of 
to-day,  who  are  getting  new  ideals,  become  the  teachers, 
school  officers,  and  patrons  of  a  new  to-morrow.  Here  is 
the  great  promise,  and  the  person  who  has  a  real  interest 
in  the  educational  uplift  for  the  country  school  must  have 
patience  and  learn  to  labor  and  to  wait. 

School  directors  can  do  something.  Instead  of  spending 
thirty-five  or  fifty  dollars  of  the  school  funds  for  a  wonder- 
ful chart  portraying  the  whole  scheme  in  the  education  of 
man  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  why  not  use  the  same 
amount  of  money  for  paint  ?  The  chart  stands  neglected 
because  the  teacher  cannot  use  it  in  the  average  school. 


INDOOR  ART  AND  DECORATION 


87 


A  planetarium  advertised  for  thirty-five  dollars,  to  "  clearly 
illustrate  and  practically  solve  the  difficult  problems  re- 
lating to  celestial  sphere,  ecliptic,  equinoxes,  apogee  and 
perigee,  zodiac,  the  seasons  of  Venus,  right  ascension  and 
declination,  retrograde  motion  of  the  planets,  etc.,"  may 
be  a  necessary  piece  of  apparatus  in  the  hands  of  a 
teacher  who  knows  how  to  use  it ;  but  country  schools  are 
needing  shades  for  the  windows,  a  hard-wood  floor,  paint 
for  the  walls,  a  towel  rack,  a  water  tank,  a  jacket  around  the 
stove,  and  many 
other  things, 
more  than  plane- 
tariums  and  geo- 
metrical blocks. 
And  yet  the 
school  officers 
are  throwing 
away  good  coin 
of  the  realm  in 
such  purchases 
of  apparatus  be- 
yond the  use  of 
the  average  country  school.  Rather  use  the  money  to 
purchase  lumber,  paint,  blackboards,  and  soap. 

If  directors  will  do  nothing  to  secure  sanitary  conditions 
to  a  moderate  degree,  then  some  responsibility  must  rest 
upon  the  teacher.  A  teacher  ought  not  to  be  compelled  to 
scrub  the  floor  and  wash  the  windows  ;  but  rather  than 
teach  in  a  dirty  building  from  month  to  month,  I  would 
clean  it  or  quit  the  school.  The  teacher  can  organize  a 
sanitary  commission,  with  herself  as  president  and  chief  of 
medical  staff.    The  children  will  gladly  enlist  as  members 


HnH 

1 

KB| 

1 

1 

Iffj 

^ 

""^1 

^^ 

i 

Fig.  54.    A  Stove  Jacket 


88  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

of  the  ambulance  corps,  for  no  doubt  there  are  dead  things 
to  be  removed  from  the  schoolroom.  One  such  instance  I 
recall  in  a  country  school  in  Winnebago  County  in  1904. 
The  teacher  has  now  been  promoted  to  the  city  schools 
of  Rockford.  She  was  determined  to  have  a  clean  room,  and 
she  succeeded  ;  but  (alas  for  the  country  school !)  she  was 
too  valuable  to  be  retained  there. 

After  the  house  is  cleaned,  with  the  exercise  of  tact  the 
cooperation  of  the  children  can  be  enlisted  to  keep  it  rea- 
sonably clean  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  But  do  not  disband 
the  sanitary  commission,  even  if  the  house  is  clean.  As 
chief  of  the  medical  staff,  visit  the  school  directors  and  ask 
for  a  bushel  of  lime,  if  the  school  funds  will  warrant  such 
an  extravagant  outlay.  Tell  them  you  know  where  you  can 
get  a  few  gallons  of  water  and  you  would  like  to  put  the 
lime  in  it.  The  average  director  may  become  alarmed  over 
the  possible  use  of  so  much  limewater ;  allay  his  fears  by 
telling  him  that  you  do  not  intend  giving  it  to  the  children, 
but  that  the  plastering  is  old  and  discolored  and  you  intend 
to  give  it  a  good  coat  of  whitewash  as  well  as  to  cover  up 
some  pencil  markings  to  be  found  on  the  interior  of  the  out- 
houses. These  two  things  can  be  done,  and  other  things 
will  come  in  due  time  if  we  faint  not.  I  am  in  sympathy, 
under  proper  conditions,  with  the  movement  to  teach  higher 
subjects  in  the  country  school ;  but  if  it  is  a  choice  be- 
tween higher  mathematics  and  soap,  and  soap  is  needed,  I 
choose  soap.  I  do  not  care  who  makes  it,  so  long  as  it  is 
anti-dirt  in  its  affections.  And  where  cleanliness  is  lacking, 
instead  of  foreign-language  work  with  a  study  of  that  won- 
derful pair  of  twins  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  let  there  be 
substituted  the  work  of  the  "Gold  Dust  Twins."  Many  of 
our  country  schoolhouses  need  to  be  purified  as  by  fire. 


INDOOR  ART  AND  DECORATION 


89 


Perhaps  the  interior  woodwork  of  the  school  needs  to  be 
freshened  up  with  a  coat  of  paint.  About  as  nice  a  job  of 
painting  as  I  have  seen  done  in  a  district  schoolhouse  was 
done  by  one  of  our  teachers  during  her  last  term  of  school. 
She  told  the  directors  that  if  they  would  furnish  the  pre- 
pared paint  she  would  put  it  on.  Not  that  I  believe  that 
teachers  should  become  scrub  women,  painters,  and  plas- 
terers ;  b  u  t  i  f 
school  author- 
ities would  not 
do  their  duty,  if 
I  wanted  to 
teach,  and  if  I 
had  to  live  in  a 
room  six  hours 
of  the  day  for 
twenty-two  days 
in  the  month  for 
si.x  months  of 
the  year,  then 
for  the  children's 
sake  I  would  cure  some  things  rather  than  endure  them, 
or  I  would  get  out  of  the  schoolroom  and  stay  out. 

Then  there  is  the  stove,  standing  usually  in  the  middle 
of  the  room.  The  teacher  can,  perhaps,  do  little  with  the 
stove  except  in  the  way  of  fuel  or  stove  polish.  No  expla- 
nation has  ever  been  offered  why  school  stoves  and  stove 
polish  are  such  hereditary  foes.  The  bitter  enmity  has 
existed  for  years,  and  )et  they  were  made  for  each  other. 
Who  is  to  blame  for  these  long  years  of  hatred  and  separa- 
tion }  With  little  effort  an  acquaintanceship  could  be  brought 
about  that  would  brighten  into  the  closest  friendship. 


Fig.  55.    A  Water  Tank 


90  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

At  a  small  expense  the  children  can  be  protected  from 
the  direct  radiation  of  a  highly  heated  stove.  This  can  be 
done  by  means  of  a  sheet-iron  jacket,  leaving  a  distance  of 
twelve  or  eighteen  inches  between  it  and  the  stove.  Such 
a  jacket  can  be  made  and  adjusted  by  any  good  tinner. 
The  teacher  can  get  figures  as  to  cost  and  present  them  to 
the  directors,  at  the  same  time  intelligently  informing  them 
as  to  the  value  of  a  stove  jacket  as  a  sanitary  addition  to 
the  schoolroom. 

Every  teacher  should  know  that  the  air  of  the  school- 
room becomes  foul  in  cold  weather.  It  can  be  smelt,  it  can 
be  tasted,  especially  if  the  windows  have  been  well  nailed 
down  and  the  fuel  is  not  spared.  If  directors  manifest  no 
disposition  to  furnish  a  simple  ventilating  system,  there  yet 
remain  one  or  two  simple  things  that  the  teacher  can  and 
should  do.  The  windows  may  be  lowered  somewhat  on  the 
side  opposite  that  from  which  the  wind  is  blowing ;  or, 
better  still,  boards  three  or  four  inches  wide  may  be  fitted 
under  the  lower  sash  of  the  windows  on  each  side  of  the 
room.  Surely,  as  a  last  resort,  the  windows  may  be  thrown 
up  once  an  hour  and  the  children  made  to  march  around 
while  the  air  is  changing.    It  is  not  a  loss  of  time. 

As  a  rule,  the  water  pail  is  in  one  corner  of  the  room  on 
a  small  bench,  almost  lost  among  the  dinner  pails  and 
wraps.  A  pail  of  fresh  water  is  brought  in  before  school 
begins  in  the  morning,  and  that  oftentimes  ends  the 
water  question  for  the  day.  The  highly  heated,  foul  atmos- 
phere of  the  schoolroom  has  its  effect  on  the  water  as  well 
as  upon  the  children.  A  small  expenditure  of  money  will 
secure  a  galvanized-iron  water  tank  with  a  cover,  and  a 
porcelain-lined  sink  with  a  waste  pipe  conducting  to  the 
exterior  of  the  building.    The  cost  of  both  need  not  exceed 


INDOOR  ART  AND  DECORATION 


91 


ten  dollars.  The  tank  should  have  a  cover  to  prevent  the 
water  from  absorbing  impurities,  and  the  sink  should  be 
porcelain  lined  to  prevent  rusting.  A  good  stove  jacket  will 
cost  ten  dollars.  Thus  for  an  expenditure  of  twenty  dollars 
—  about  half  the  cost  of  a  chart  or  a  planetarium  —  the 
sanitation  of  the  schoolroom  may  be  greatly  improved.  But 
school  sanitation  is  not  as  attractive  a  subject  as  school 
decoration,  though  more  important. 

The  report  of  the  Art  Education  Society  and  the  Home 
Gardening    Association    of  the    Cleveland    public   schools 


Fig.  56.    Studying  a  Traveling  Art  Exhibit 


for  1904  shows  what  one  city  is  doing,  through  an  organi- 
zation of  teachers,  to  put  good  works  of  art  into  the  school- 
room. The  Cleveland  Art  Education  Society  was  formed 
among  the  teachers  of  Cleveland  in  1896.  The  purpose  of 
the  society  was  "  to  secure  reproductions  of  the  great  pic- 
tures of  the  world,  foreign  and  domestic  views,  for  the  use 
of  the  schools  of  the  city,  as  a  means  of  educating  the 
children  in  the  appreciation  of  the  beautiful,"  As  to 
results,  the  report  states  that  "  by  means  of  teachers'  dollar 


92  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

membership  fees,  entertainments,  lectures,  etc.,  $6000  was 
raised  the  first  year.  This  movement  has  gained  many 
ardent  supporters  among  teachers,  scholars,  parents,  and 
other  public-spirited  citizens,  and  the  work  has  gone  on 
steadily,  until  there  are  now  about  forty-one  hundred  pic- 
tures in  the  schools.  The  total  cost  of  the  pictures  now 
in  the  Cleveland  public  schools  aggregates  $27,665.65." 
The  report  gives  a  list  of  the  pictures,  statuary,  and  casts 
that  have  been  placed  in  the  eighty  school  buildings  of 
Cleveland.    The  pamphlet  is  well  illustrated. 

In  October,  1900,  on  my  return  from  a  visit  to  the  cen- 
tralized schools  of  northeastern  Ohio,  it  was  my  great 
pleasure  to  see  some  of  the  schoolroom  decorations  in  the 
schools  of  Cleveland  and  Indianapolis.  I  then  determined 
that  something  of  art  education  should  begin  for  the  country 
children  of  my  own  county.  Since  September  i,  1901,  there 
has  been  raised  b}'^  teachers  and  children,  by  means  of 
socials,  entertainments,  etc.,  the  sum  of  $4165.  Of  this 
amount  about  $1600  has  been  expended  for  pictures  ;  the 
rest  has  been  used  in  the  purchase  of  such  schoolroom 
furnishings  as  books,  organs,  pianos,  clocks,  and  apparatus. 
Besides  this  we  are  indebted  to  interested  friends  for  a  very 
generous  donation  of  pictures  and  casts. 

It  was  not  expected  that  many  of  the  country  school- 
teachers of  Winnebago  County,  in  the  very  near  future  at 
least,  would  be  able  to  visit  the  art  galleries  of  Europe  and 
study  pictures.  The  next  best  thing  was,  if  possible,  to 
secure  reproductions  that  might  be  studied  at  the  annual 
teachers'  institutes.  Such  a  loan  was  secured  for  three 
consecutive  years  :  institute  of  1901,  pictures  by  the  Prang 
Educational  Company  of  Chicago;  institute  of  1902,  the 
best  reproductions  by  the  Soule  Art  Company  of  Boston ; 


INDOOR  ART  AxND  DECORATION 


93 


institute  of   1903,   excellent   pictures   by   the    Horace   K. 
Turner  Company  of  Boston. 

These  pictures  were  hung  in  the  assembly  room  and  hall 
of  the  Rockford  high-school  building,  and  thus  for  a  week 
the  teachers  could  in  a  sense  visit  the  great  art  galleries 
and  in  a  measure  begin  to  know  the  old  masters.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  county  superintendent  was  to  have  the  teachers 
make  some  acquaintance  with  pictures,  proper  framing,  etc., 
before  buying  for  the  schoolroom.     One  period  (forty-five 


1  i  ,.  ^7.    An  Improved  Interior 

minutes)  each  day  at  these  institutes  was  devoted  to  illus- 
trated talks  on  Murillo,  Raphael,  Millet,  Rosa  Bonheur, 
Corot,  Breton,  Michelangelo,  Landseer,  and  Ruysdael. 

In  addition  to  the  study  of  pictures  for  those  three  years 
at  the  annual  teachers'  institutes  an  opportunity  was  given 
to  read  about  art  and  artists.  The  city  library  of  Rock- 
ford  kindly  loaned  all  the  books  necessary  to  carry  out  the 
course  of  reading.  These  books  were  placed  in  the  assembly 
room  of  the  high  school,  and  one  hour  each  day  was  devoted 
to  reading.    1  he  list  of  books  was  printed,  so  that  during 


94 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


the  year  any  country  teacher  might  continue  the  reading 
if  she  desired.  The  following  short  list,  prepared  by  an 
art  expert,  contains  such  books  as  are  deemed  by  him  to  be 
most  useful  for  school  libraries  or  for  individual  purchase. 


A  Small  Working  Library  for  Art  Education 


Puffer's  Psychology  of  Beauty. 
La  Farge's  Considerations  on 
Painting. 

Brown's  The  Fine  Arts. 

Goodyear's  History  of  Art. 

Lubke's  History  of  Art. 

Ferguson's  History  of  Architec- 
ture. 

Wamum's  Analysis  of  Ornament. 

Tarbell's  History  of  Greeic  Art. 

Weir's  Greek  Painters'  Art. 

Berenson's  Central  Painters  of 
the  Renaissance. 

Brownell's  French  Art. 

Clement's  Sacred  and  Legendary 
Art. 

Clement's  Painters,  Sculptors, 
and  Engravers. 

Clement's  Artists  of  Nineteenth 
Century. 

Hoyt's  The  World's  Painters. 

Taine's  Lectures  on  Art. 

Emery's  How  to  Enjoy  Pictures. 

Coffin's  How  to  Study  Pictures. 

Poore's  Pictorial  Composition. 

Hatton's  Figure  Drawing  and 
Composition. 


Sturgis's    The    Appreciation    of 
Sculpture. 

Ruskin's  Modern  Painters. 

Moody's  Lectures  and  Lessons  on 
Art. 

Meyer's  Handbook  of  Ornament. 

Crane's  Line  and  Form. 

Day's  Ornament  and  its  Applica- 
tion. 

Mayeux's  Manual  of  Decorative 
Composition. 

Jackson's  Lessons  on  Decorative 
Design. 

Maginnis's  Pen  Drawing. 

Cross's  Freehand  Drawing. 

Cross's  Mechanical  Drawing. 

Brown's  Letters  and  Lettering. 

Burrage  and  Bailey's  School  San- 
itation and  Decoration. 

Sanford's  Art  Crafts  for  Begin- 
ners. 

Periodicals 

School  Arts  Book. 
Masters  in  Art. 
International  Studio. 


Two  books  in  the  above  list  were  read  thoroughly 
and  discussed  at  local  teachers'  meetings  for  two  years. 
They  were  Burrage  and   Bailey's   School  Sanitation  and 


INDOOR  ART  AND  DECOR-\TION  95 

Decoration  and  Emery's  Hozu  to  Enjoy  Pictures.  These  two 
books  are  especially  commended  to  school-teachers  for  their 
private  libraries,  and  the  first-mentioned  should  be  read  by 
school  officers,  as  it  gives  valuable  suggestions  in  regard  to 
interior  decoration. 

A  school  social  once  a  year,  if  managed  properly,  is  a  means 
of  uplift  for  the  entire  district.  The  programme  should  be 
thought  out  carefully  and  should  be  of  a  simple  educative 


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Fig.  58.    Pictures  and  Books 
These  pictures  and  books  were  bought  with  the  proceeds  of  school  socials 

character.  Amateur  theatricals  should  not  be  attempted 
in  the  average  country  school.  Suppose  October  to  be 
observed  as  a  library  and  picture  month.  Literature  and 
art  should  go"  together.  The  following  suggestive  plan 
and  programme  was  given  to  our  teachers  at  the  beginning 
of  our  campaign. 

I.  Harvest  home  social  during  the  month  of  October,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  books  for  the  school  and  one  or  two 
choice  pictures  for  schoolroom  decoration.  Admission, 
adults,  15  cents  ;  school  children,  10  cents. 


96 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


II.  Preparation  of  room  :    Decorate  with  autumn  leaves,  grasses, 
flowers,  fruits,  grains,  etc. 
III.  Suggestive  programme  : 

1.  Song  by  the  school  :  "  Illinois." 

2.  Recitation  :  "  October's  Bright  Blue  Weather"  (Helen  Hunt 

Jackson). 

3.  Recitation  :  "  When  the  Frost  is  on  the  Pumpkin  "  (James 

Whitcomb  Riley). 

4.  Autumn    flower  exercise  :    Various  school  journals   contain 

suggestions  for  this  number. 

5.  Music. 

6.  Songs  of  Labor  (Whittier). 

a.  "  The  Huskers." 

b.  "  The  Corn-Song." 

7.  Song  by  the  school. 

8.  Short  essay  :  "  The  Value  of  a  School  Library." 

9.  Short  essay  :  "  Schoolroom  Decoration." 

10.  The  pupils'  reading  circle  :  A  brief  statement  by  the  teacher 

of  the  purpose  of  the  organization  and  giving  the  list  of 
books  for  the  current  year. 

11.  Music. 

12.  A  picture  study  :   Here  is  an  opportunity  to  interest  patrons 

and  children  in  art  and  artists.  Comments  should  not 
be  too  technical.  A  few  good  examples  are  given  below. 
Suitable  pictures  for  October  are  the  following: 

a.  Millet,  "  The  Gleaners." 

b.  Breton,  "  The  Gleaners." 

c.  Troyon,  "  Oxen  going  to  Work." 

d.  Breton,  "  The  End  of  Labor." 

e.  Adam,  '•  The  Hayinaker." 

/.  Le  Rolle,  "  The  Shepherdess." 

Secure  a  penny  Perry  picture  of  Millet's  "Gleanens,"  or 
a  larger  one  if  possible,  and  place  it  on  the  front  wall  in 
plain  view.  Have  one  of  the  oldest  pupils  read  short 
selections  about  this  picture  and  t-he  man  who  painted  it 
(see  Hurll's  Millet,  Riverside  Art  Series ;  see  also  Julia 


INDOOR  ART  AND   DECORATION  97 

Cartwright's  Life  of  Millet  and  Wilson's  Picture  Study  iji 
Elevioitary  Schools  for  material  relating  to  Millet). 

13.  Interesting  and   instructive  bits  of    history  about   a  picture 

or  an  artist,  as  above. 

14.  Song  by  tlie  scliool. 

15.  Harvest  home  lunch:    Refreshments  of  some  kind  will  be  a 

pleasant  feature  and  a  means  of  revenue  as  well.  A  basket 
tastefully  trimmed  with  autumn  leaves  and  tilled  with  lunch 
for  two  can  be  sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  the  proceeds 
may  go  to  the  library  and  picture  fund. 

16.  Closing  song  by  all  :   "America."' 

Thornbury  tells  us  that  the  subject  of  the  "  Temeraire  " 
was  suggested  to  Turner  by  his  friend  Stanfield,  while  they 
were  on  a  holiday  excursion. 

It  was  at  these  times  that  Turner  talked  and  joked  his  best,  snatch- 
ing now  and  then  a  moment  to  print  on  his  cjuick  brain  some  tone 
of  sky,  some  gleam  of  water,  some  sprinkling  light  of  oar,  some 
glancing  sunshine  crossbarring  a  sail.  Suddenly  there  moved  down 
upon  the  artist's  boat  the  grand  old  vessel  that  had  been  taken  prisoner 
at  the  Nile  and  that  led  the  van  at  Trafalgar.  .She  loomed  pale  and 
ghastly,  and  was  being  towed  to  her  last  moorings  at  Deptford  by  a 
little  fiery,  saucy-looking  steam  tug. 

"There  is  a  fine  subject,  Turner,"  .said  Stanfield.  Tur- 
ner's picture  represents  the  sunset  of  a  great  day  in 
England's  naval  history, — departing  of  the  wooden  navy; 
day  of  steel  and  steam  soon  to  dawn.  While  studying  this 
picture  let  the  pupils  read  or  commit  portions  of  Holmes's 
poem  written  when  it  was  proposed  that  the  American 
frigate  Constit?ition  should  meet  with  a  like  fate. 

The  pictures  of  Millet  appeal  strongly  to  many  who  know 
but  little  about  art.  The  artist  sympathized  with  toil,  and  his 
great  genius  was  used  to  ennoble  labor.    Millet's  art  reveals 


^8        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

the  dignity  in  country  life  and  toil.    He  teaches  an  impor- 
tant lesson  to  every  American.    Mrs.  Cartwright  says  : 

He  knew,  as  few  masters  have  ever  known,  how  to  put  a  whole 
world  of  thought  into  an  individual  action,  how  to  express  the  Hves 
and  characters  of  bygone  generations  in  a  single  gesture  ;  and  with  true 
poetic  insight  he  makes  us  realize  the  deeper  meaning  that  lies  hidden 
below  the  eternal  destiny  of  the  human  race,  —  the  age-long  struggle 
of  man  with  nature,  which  will  endure  while  seedtime  and  harvest, 
summer  and  winter,  follow  each  other  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 


Fig.  59.    A  Room  in  the  Seward  Consolidated  School 

"The  Sower"  is  another  picture  which  appeals  to  the 
many.  The  figure  represents  a  phase  of  farming  fast  disap- 
pearing. The  patent  seeder  with  a  team  of  horses  is  now  re- 
garded as  indispensable  in  up-to-date  farming.  To  compare 
thoughtfully  the  picture  itself  with  such  a  description  of  it 
as  this  by  Mrs.  Cartwright  is  a  practice  to  be  commended: 

And  as  he  meditated  over  these  old  memories  the  great  picture 
grew  into  being,  and  he  painted  that  wonderful  form  of  the  sower, 
striding  with  majestic  tread  across  the  newly  plowed  field,  flinging 
the  precious  seed  broadcast.  Night  is  falling,  the  shadows  are  length- 
ening over  the  wind-swept  fields,  and  scarce  a  gleam  in  the  western 


INDOOR  ART  AND   DECORATION  99 

sky  lights  up  the  winter  landscape  ;  but  still  he  goes  on  his  way,  careless 
alike  of  the  coming  darkness  or  of  the  flocks  of  hungry  crows  that  fol- 
low in  his  track.  In  that  solitary  figure,  with  his  measured  tread  and 
superb  action,  the  whole  spirit  of  the  peasant's  calling  is  summed  up 
with  a  power  and  concentration  of  thought  worthy  of  Michelangelo. 

Millet  was  ever  true  to  his  ideals.  He  was  willing  to 
suffer  for  them.  Herein  is  another  lesson  our  children  need 
to  learn.    Moreover,  he  teaches  us  to  discriminate  between 


Fig.  60.    A  Room  in  the  Seward  Consolidated  School  ' 

conventional  and  vital  beauty.    When  Sensier  urged  Millet 
to  make  his  peasants  more  attractive,  Millet's  reply  was  : 

That  is  all  very  fine,  but  you  must  remember  that  beauty  does  not 
consist  merely  in  the  shape  or  coloring  of  the  face.  It  lies  in  the 
general  effect  of  the  form,  in  suitable  and  appropriate  action.  Your 
pretty  peasant  girls  are  not  fit  to  pick  up  fagots,  to  glean  under  the 
August  sun,  or  draw  water  from  the  well.  When  I  paint  a  mother  I 
shall  try  and  make  her  beautiful  simply  by  the  look  which  she  bends 
upon  her  child.    Beauty  is  expression. 

.  The  great  mass  of  country  people  should  be  led  to  appre- 
ciate the  beautiful  in  art  as  well  as  in  nature,  and  the  place 
to  begin  is  in  the  country  school.  A  start  can  be  made  with 
the  Perry  pictures  and  the  Prang  platinettes. 


lOO       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

In  June,  1902,  a  friend  from  Boston  visited  our  schools, 
and  in  token  of  his  appreciation  of  efforts  made  to  put  good 
pictures  into  the  schoolrooms  he  decorated  a  schoolroom  at 
his  own  expense. 

The  pictures  are  fourteen  in  number,  well  framed.  The 
following  are  the  subjects : 

1.  Stuarfs  "  Washington." 

2.  St.  Gaudens's  "  Lincoln." 

3.  St.  Gaudens's  "  Shaw  Memorial." 

4.  Millet's  "  The  Gleaners." 

5.  Turner's  "Approach  to  Venice"  (in  colors). 

6.  Turner's  "  Fighting  Tem^raire." 

7.  William  Morris  Hunt's  "  Flight  of  Night." 

8.  Ruysdael's  "  Windmill." 

9.  Van  Marcke's  "  Water  Gate." 

10.  "  Lower  Falls,  Yellowstone  "  (in  color). 

11.  Raphael's  '•  Sistine  Madonna." 

12.  Mauve's  "  Shepherd's  Lane." 

13.  "  Portrait  of  Longfellow." 

14.  Birgel's  "  Twilight." 

The  same  gentleman,  with  the  same  spirit  of  generosity, 
gave  all  the  pictures  and  casts  to  decorate  the  first  con- 
solidated country-school  building  in  Illinois,  an  account  of 
which;  with  illustrations,  is  found  in  another  chapter. 

The  Illinois  Congress  of  Mothers  is  always  ready  to 
advise  with  teachers  about  schoolroom  decoration,  as  the 
following  announcement  shows : 

The  Committee  on  School  Decoration  of  the  Illinois  Congress  of 
Mothers  cordially  offers  its  services  to  any  one  engaged  in  school 
beautifying. 

I.  The  selection  of  wall  tints. 

Give  size  of  room,  height  of  ceiling,  and  number  and  direction 
of  windows.    Samples  of  suitable  tints  will  be  sent. 


INDOOR  ART  AND  DECORATION 


lOI 


2.  Choice  of  pictures. 

State  amount  to  be  expended  and  give  dimensions  of  wall 
space  on  wliich  picture  is  to  hang  ;  also  direction  of  light 
received  and  average  age  of  pupils  in  room. 

A  number  of  suitable  subjects  will  be  suggested  and  Perry 
copies  of  same  sent  to  assist  in  selection.  When  purchase 
is  certain,  pictures  themselves  may  be  sent  on  approval. 

3.  Selection  of  frame,  mat,  etc. 

4.  Choice  of  casts  suited  to  schools  ;  also  of  effective  pottery,  with 

suggestions  for  placing. 
Hoping  in  this  way  to   make   available  to  the  smaller  towns  of 
Illinois,  and  to  the  country  schools,  the  varied  a.ssortment  and  excel- 
lent values  possible  to  a  great  city,  the  committee  invites  you  to  make 
free  use  of  its  offer. 

In  the  matter  of  schoolroom  decoration  it  is  not  to  be 
expected  that  country  schools  can  e.xcel  or  equal  city  schools 


Fig.  61.    A  Room  in  the  Seward  Consolidated  School 

like  those  of  Cleveland  or   Indianapolis.    But   something 
can  be  done.    The  following,  from  the  chapter  "The  Old 


I02  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Country  Schoolroom"  in  School  Sanitation  and  Decoration, 
by  Burrage  and  Bailey,  is  direct  and  to  the  point : 

But  suppose  such  things  cannot  be  had.  An  old  picture  frame 
may  be  found,  scraped,  rubbed  down  with  oil  or  shellac,  a  glass  fitted 
into  it,  and  a  back  made,  which  may  be  removed  easily.  A  full- 
page  engraving  from  a  magazine,  a  half-tone  reproduction,  a  Japanese 
print,  an  unmounted  photograph,  —  such  pictures  anybody  can  pro- 
cure in  these  days,  —  these  may  be  mounted  on  gray  cards  of  uniform 
size  to  fit  the  frame,  and  each  displayed  for  a  day  or  two,  or  a  week 
or  more. 

In  any  event  the  teacher  should  decree  that  nothing  but  beautiful 
things  shall  be  hung  upon  the  walls.  Better  bare  walls  than  debased 
and  debasing  art ;  better  nothing  in  the  way  of  decoration  than  deco- 
ration which  is  worse  than  nothing.  The  following  list  may  prove  use- 
ful to  the  country  teacher  who  wishes  to  be  able  to  name  one  desirable 
work  of  art,  and  then  another  and  another  as  the  interest  increases. 

Abbott  Thayer's  "  Caritas." 

Millet's  "  Feeding  her  Birds." 
<a^  Raphael's  "  Madonna  of  the  Chair." 
^\      Barye's  "  Lion  and  Snake  "  (cast). 
\     •    "A  Cathedral"  (Notre  Dame,  Canterbury,  or  Amiens). 

Guido  Reni's  "  Aurora." 

Corot's  "  Paysage." 

Regnault's  "Automedon." 

Delia  Robbia's  "A  Bambino  "  (cast). 

V/atts's  »  Sir  Galahad." 

Turner's  "  Old  Tdmdraire." 

Donatello's  "  Infant  St.  John"  (cast). 

Make  a  bold  beginning  and  believe  in  your  ultimate  success  in 
securing  what  you  want  for  the  children. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  move  to  the  cities  to  have  the 
children  come  in  touch  with  literature  and  art. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SCHOOL   LIBRARIES 

During  the  last  two  or  three  years  articles  have  ap- 
peared in  the  leading  magazines,  and  in  the  public  press 
as  well,  describing  the  wonderful  growth  of  public  libraries. 
Millionaires  are  erecting  buildings  and  endowing  libraries 
and  art  galleries  for  city  people  and  their  children,  but  who 
is  making  an  effort  to  supply  good  reading  matter  for  the 
vast  number  of  children  in  the  country  schools  ?  In  TJie 
World's  Work  for  July,  1905,  is  an  article,  "  Libraries  for 
Everybody,"  by  Herbert  Putnam,  Librarian  of  Congress. 
This  article  is  well  illustrated  with  charts  showing  the 
growth  and  distribution  of  public  libraries  in  the  United 
States.  Just  how  many  people  living  on  farms  are  included 
in  the  word  "everybody,"  the  last  word  in  the  title  of  the 
article  by  Mr.  Putnam,  is,  of  course,  a  matter  of  conjec- 
ture. It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  are  thousands  of  homes 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  children  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts to  whom  good  books  are  practically  unknown. 

Before  describing  how  good  books  are  secured  and 
teachers  trained  to  use  and  take  care  of  them  in  country 
schools,  let  us  see  what  is  being  done,  not  by  gifts  of  mil- 
lionaires but  through  the  public  school,  to  develop  libraries 
and  to  have  children  acquire  the  habit  of  reading  good 
books.  The  reports  for  1904,  issued  by  the  state  superin- 
tendents of  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Indiana,  Missouri,  Minne- 
sota, and  Illinois,  show  that  commendable  progress  is  being 


I04  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

made.  The  following  summary  is  interesting,  for  it  repre- 
sents a  movement  and  shows  results  that  are  not  widely 
known  to  the  general  public.  A  fine  building  for  library 
purposes  standing  on  a  choice  site  in  a  city  can  be  seen 
of  men,  but  the  country-school  library  movement  is  not 
so  conspicuous,  though  more  far-reaching. 

Wisconsin  has  a  library  law  requiring  the  levy  of  ten 
cents  per  capita  for  each  person  of  school  age  living  in  the 
school  district  for  a  library  fund  for  that  district.  A  list  of 
books  is  carefully  prepared  in  the  office  of  the  state  superin- 
tendent. The  inference  from  the  state  report  is  that  every 
country  school  in  Wisconsin  has  a  library,  thus  represent- 
ing a  total  of  817,075  volumes  purchased  by  a  tax  of  ten 
cents  per  capita.  There  are,  in  addition,  in  cities  not  under 
per  capita  tax,  125,000  volumes  in  school  Ubraries,  thus 
making  a  total  of  942,075  volumes  of  good  books  in  the 
schools  of  Wisconsin. 

Iowa  has  a  law  requiring  the  purchase  of  good  books  for 
country  children.  The  books  are  selected  by  the  State 
Educational  Board  of  Examiners;  and  10,706  school  dis- 
tricts have  libraries  representing  614,492  volumes,  73,479 
of  which  were  added  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1904. 
This  represents  an  outlay  for  that  year  of  1^25,548.31  from 
district  funds  and  $10,439.20  raised  by  voluntary  efforts. 
Iowa  has  6821  country  schools  with  suitable  library  cases. 

The  Indiana  report  makes  no  specific  mention  of  "  dis- 
trict-school"  libraries,  but  states  that  there  are  517,543 
volumes  in  the  Young  People's  Reading  Circle  libraries. 
Of  this  number  81,273  were  added  the  past  year. 

Minnesota  has  state  aid  to  the  extent  of  $15,000  an- 
nually for  school-library  purposes.  State  Superintendent 
Oleson   reports   this   amount    inadequate.     For    the   year 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES 


105 


ending  July  31,  1904,  there  were  587,299  volumes  in  school 
libraries,  69,400  of  which  were  added  during  the  past  year. 

Missouri  has  468,905  volumes  in  5696  districts.  As 
there  are  9974  school  districts  in  the  state,  the  inference 
is  that  4278  school  districts  have  no  libraries.  This  is  28 
districts  more  than  in  Illinois. 

Illinois  has  no  state  school-library  law  or  state  aid,  and 
no  state  list  of  books.    The  report  for   1904  gives  7499 


Fig.  62.    A  Country-School  Library 

school  districts  (city  and  country)  having  896,251  volumes 
in  libraries,  87,021  of  which  were  added  the  past  year. 
There  are  4252  school  districts  (city  and  country)  without 
any  libraries. 

Of  the  4252  Illinois  school  districts  without  library  books, 
it  is  safe  to  claim  4000  as  being  one-room  country  schools. 
Now  not  a  single  one  of  these  4000  schools  is  necessarily 


106  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

a  poor  school  because  of  the  absence  of  a  library.  I  am 
willing  to  allow  that  a  well-trained  normal  or  university 
graduate  is  teaching  in  every  one  of  those  4000  districts, 
and  thus  by  the  superior  character  of  work  done  by  the 
teacher  the  absence  of  good  reference  books  on  history, 
biography,  geography,  literature,  and  art  is  not  as  great  a 
loss  to  the  children  as  it  might  be.  But  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases  such  teachers  are  not  likely  to  be  found  in  such 
districts.  If  they  were,  there  would  be  good  libraries  in  3999 
out  of  the  4000  districts,  because  such  teachers  would  find 
a  way  to  get  books  and,  what  is  better,  would  make  such 
good  use  of  them  that  the  children's  lives  would  be  en- 
riched ;  and  through  the  children  there  would  be  a  higher 
ideal  as  to  the  character  of  the  literature  to  be  used  in  the 
home,  if  any  at  all  had  been  used  there. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  offer  any  explanation  why  the  chil- 
dren of  4000  country  schools  of  the  great  and  wealthy 
state  of  Illinois  have  no  libraries.  In  my  own  county  of 
Winnebago  two  reasons  are  sometimes  offered  why  books 
are  not  purchased  by  school  officers  out  of  the  school 
funds,  as  the  law  allows  them.  The  first  is  that  the  district 
is  too  poor,  and  the  second  is  that  the  teacher  does  not 
see  to  it  that  the  books  are  properly  cared  for  and  efforts 
made  to  have  the  children  acquire  the  habit  of  reading 
good  books.  This  last  reason  is  more  serious  than  the  first ; 
and  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  indifference  of  many 
teachers  to  the  library  offers  good  excuse  for  it.  The  plea 
of  poverty  can  have  but  little  weight  as  an  excuse  why  at 
least  five  dollars'  worth  of  books  may  not  be  added  annu- 
ally in  every  country  district  in  Illinois.  There  are  grounds 
for  believing  that  school  funds  are  wasted  in  some  direc- 
tions.   Directors,  and  most  often  the  ones  who  claim  that 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  107 

taxes  are  already  too  high,  become  helpless  in  the  presence 
of  an  agent  with  a  wonderful  chart,  and  sign  away  thirty 
dollars  in  the  purchase  of  a  piece  of  apparatus  which  the 
teacher  cannot  or  does  not  use. 

A  few  years  ago  such  an  agent  came  to  Winnebago 
County,  and  fully  a  dozen  boards  of  directors  bought  the 
chart.  Let  us  see  what  thirty  dollars  would  do  towards  a 
good  school  library  : 

1905  set  (20  books)  of  Illinois  Pupils' Reading  Circle     .     .$13.15 

One  Webster's  International  Dictionary 10.00 

Four  supplementary  first       readers i.oo 

"  "  second        "  1.60 

"  "  third  "  1.80 

One  year's  subscription  to  the  Little  Chronicle 1.50 

Total- $29.05 

No,  poverty  is  not  a  sufificient  excuse.  Even  if  the 
teacher  paid  no  more  attention  to  the  above  books  than 
she  does  to  the  chart,  still  the  books  are  a  better  invest- 
ment, for  some  of  the  pupils  will  read  in  spite  of  the  in- 
difference of  the  teacher. 

William  Hawley  Smith,  in  TJic  Evohitioji  of  D odd,  says  : 

And  for  you,  who  send  your  six-year-olds  to  school  with  a  single 
book,  and  grumble  because  you  have  to  buy  even  so  much  of  an  out- 
fit, what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it  when  your  boy  drains  all  the 
life  out  of  the  little  volume  in  a  couple  of  weeks  or  a  month  ?  He 
knows  the  stories  by  heart,  and  after  that  he  says  them  over,  day  by 
day,  because  he  must,  and  not  in  the  least  because  he  cares  to. 

As  to  the  second  reason,  that  teachers  do  not  use  the 
books  and  do  not  compel  the  children  to  use  them  properly, 
there  is  too  much  truth.  For  six  years  at  the  Winnebago 
County  Annual  Teachers'  Institute,  during  the  library  hour, 


io8 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


an  effort  has  been  made  to  teach  teachers  how  to  care  for 
books  and  make  them  an  efficient  factor  in  vitalizing  the 
regular  work  of  the  school,  and  at  the  same  time  to  teach 
them  how  to  interest  children  in  books  so  that  they  will 
want  to  read  after  they  leave  school.  This  last  accomplish- 
ment is  by  no  means  to  be  despised.    As  a  rule,  I  believe 


Fig.  63.    Library'  Case  and  Reading  Table 

that  if  teachers  make  the  right  use  of  library  books  and 
apparatus,  they  will  have  but  little  trouble  in  inducing  the 
average  board  of  directors  to  supply  them. 

On  July  I,  1899,  there  were  fifty-six  districts  out  of  one 
hundred  and  eighteen  in  Winnebago  County  (outside  the 
city  of  Rockford)  without  school  libraries.  September  i, 
1899,  began  with  us  the  Twentieth  Century  Forward  Li- 
brary Movement.    Teachers,  children,  parents,  and  county 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES 


109 


superintendents  cooperated  to  secure  the  following  results 
so  far  as  the  local  district  libraries  are  concerned  : 


Number  of  volumes 


in  1S99 1386 

added  "  1900 1542 

1 901 2483 

1902 1284 

1903 772 

•904 33° 

1905 552 


Total S349 

The  decrease  in  the  number  of  volumes  put  into  local 
school  libraries  since  1901  is  because  of  the  growth  of  the 
Winnebago  Country  District  School  Traveling  Libraries. 
The  increase  of  books  for  local  district  libraries  has  been 
largely  the  result  of  socials  held  by  pupils  and  teachers. 


Net  proceeds  of  school  socials,  1901 

"  "  "        "  "        1902 

1903, 

1904 

1905 


$868.68 

1072.09 
805.15 
526.13 
935S5 


Total $4207.90 

Not  all  of  the  money  so  raised  was  expended  for  books. 
Some  was  used  for  pictures,  organs,  pianos,  curtains, 
shades,  clocks,  maps,  desks,  globes,  and  the  like. 

Amount  expended  from  school  funds  for  books,  1901  $525.21 

"               "            "          "          "       "        "        1902  120.96 

"               "            "           "           "       "        "        1903  89.10 

"       "        "        1904  12.13 

"               "             "          "          "       "        "         1905  106.S6 

Total $854.26 

The  decrease  in  amount  of  our  district  funds  expended 
by  school  officers  is  due  primarily  to  the  notion  that  a  few 
books  bought  one  year  are  sufficient  for  the  next  ten  years 


no       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

or  sq;  and  also  to  the  fact  that  the  Winnebago  County 
District  Traveling  Libraries  bring  new  and  better  books 
every  year  to  each  school  district. 

The  traveling  libraries  for  the  district  schools  of  Winne- 
bago County  began  in  1901  and  were  a  result  of  my  obser- 
vation of  the  helpfulness  of  the  Rockford  Public  Library  to 
me  when  a  teacher  in  the  high  school  in  that  city.  As  there 
were  traveling  libraries  from  the  city  library  to  the  various 
school  buildings  of  Rockford,  I  thought  that  something 
similar  to  this  might  be  inaugurated  for  the  country  chil- 
dren. The  only  questions  to  solve  were  how  to  get  the 
money  and  how  to  make  the  libraries  travel. 

For  several  reasons  I  thought  it  desirable  to  get  all  the 
schools  of  a  township  together  at  some  central  point  in 
June  each  year,  and  have  appropriate  closing  exercises.  At 
these  exercises  diplomas  were  awarded  to  all  pupils  entitled 
to  promotion  to  the  high  school,  to  pupils  having  read  six 
books  during  the  school  year,  and  to  teachers  who  had 
completed  the  professional  study  for  that  year.  An  admission 
fee  of  ten  cents  was  charged,  and  the  net  proceeds  went  to 
build  up  a  traveling-library  fund ;  the  County  Board  of  Super- 
visors also  made  appropriations  for  two  years.  My  county 
board  has  always  supported  my  efforts  to  build  up  the  schools. 

For  the  first  year  forty  boxes  of  books  were  available. 
In  1902  eighteen  more  were  added,  and  thirteen  more  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1905,  making  a  total  of  seventy-three 
libraries,  representing  4248  volumes  at  a  cost  of  $2195.39. 

The  programme  and  all  committees  for  township  exer- 
cises are  arranged  for  the  annual  institute  the  last  week 
of  March  each  year.  For  the  first  four  years  the  county 
supermtendent  attended  every  township  exercise,  being  out 
sixteen  evenings  in  June.    During  June,  1905,  the  teachers, 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES 


1 1 1 


with  great  credit  to  themselves,  assumed  full  control,  and  the 
county  superintendent  attended  only  one  township  exercise. 
The  aim  of  the  traveling  libraries  is  twofold  :  first,  to 
furnish  aids  for  carrying  out  the  regular  work  of  the  school ; 
hence  the  presence  of  supplementary  readers,  works  on 
geography,  history,  etc.;  second,  to  take  to  the  country 
school  much  of  the  valuable  literature  that  is  not  found  in 
the  ordinary  school  library.  A  better  idea  of  the  character 
of  the  books  will  be  had  if  the  contents  of  two  boxes  are 
given  (see  Fig.  64).  The  small  boxes  are  for  the  one-room 
country  schools  and  the  large  ones  for  the  graded  schools. 
There  are  sixty-four  boxes  for  one  hundred  and  six  country 
schools  and  nine  boxes  for  the  nine  graded  schools,  all  out- 
side the  city  of  Rockford.  The  contents  of  box  50  are  as 
follows : 


6  Cyr's  Second  Reader. 

5  Cyr's  Fourth  Reader. 

I  White's  Court  of  Boyville. 

r  Wilson's  Division  and  Reunion. 

I  Montgomery's  Leading  Facts 
of  American  History. 

I  Under  Sunny  Skies  (Youth's 
Companion  Series). 

I  Scudder's  George  W^ashington. 

I  Hart's  Colonial  Children. 

I  Hawthorne's  Tanglewood Tales. 

I  Chase's  Birdland. 

I  Carroll's  Around  the  World. 

I  Kingsley's  Four  American  Ex- 
plorers. 

I  Werner's  Primer. 

I  Pratt's  America's  Story  for 
America's  Children. 

I  Bolton's  Poor  Boys  Who  Be- 
came Famous. 


I  Beal's  Seed  Dispersal. 

I  Eckstrom's  The  Bird  Book. 

I  Miller's  Second  Book  of  Birds. 

I  Lights  to  Literature  (Reader). 

I  Guerber's  Story  of  the  Eng- 
lish. 

I  Barnes's  For  King  or  Country. 

I  Long's  Secrets  of  the  Woods. 

I  Arnold's  Primer. 

I  Brooks's  True  Story  of  George 
Washington. 

I  Rorer's  Good  Cooking. 

I  Clark's  How  to  Teach  Read- 
ing. 

I  Wade's  Our  Little  Indian 
Cousin. 

I  McMurry's  Robinson  Crusoe. 

I  Irish's  American  and  British 
Authors. 

I  Kupper's  Stories  of  Long  Ago. 


112 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


The  boxes  for  country  schools  are  in  groups  of  threes 
for  circuits  comprising  six  school  districts.  There  are  dif- 
ferent books  in  each  box  of  a  circuit,  though  there  are  dupli- 
cates in  the  sixty-four  boxes.  For  example,  there  are  twenty 
copies  of  Thwaite's  Tlie  Colonies  and  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  of  Cyr's  First  Readers  scattered  among  the  boxes.  But 
the  plan  of  travel  is  such  that  it  will  be  eighteen  years 
before  the  same  three  boxes  circulate  among  the  same  six 


Fig.  64.  Traveling  Libraries  for  Country  Schools  :    Plan  of  Disinfection 

schools.  If  boxes  39,  40,  and  58  are  in  Circuit  B,  com- 
prising districts  24,  34,  22,  20,  21,  and  23  for  the  school 
year  1904-1905,  these  three  boxes  are  dropped  to  Circuit  C 
for  1 905- 1 906  and  three  boxes  from  Circuit  S  are  advanced 
to  Circuit  B,  and  so  on  for  eighteen  years.  Beginning  with 
September,  1905,  each  box  remains  two  months  in  each 
school.  At  the  beginning  of  each  school  year  the  boxes 
are  sent  out  by  trolley  lines,  railway  express,  and  in  the 
county  superintendent's   buggy.    In  June  they  return  to 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES 


113 


the  county  superintendent's  office  in  the  same  way,  where 
the  boxes  are  checked  up,  books  repaired  and  fumigated,  and 
new  books  added.  Every  precaution  is  taken  during  the 
school  year  to  guard  against  contagious  diseases.  If  books 
are  in  a  family  where  children  are  sick  with  scarlet  fever, 
the  teacher  has  instructions  to  require  those  books  to  be 
burned,  and  not  to  allow  their  return  to  the  box  in  the  school- 
house.  The  children  are  urged  to  take  books  home  with 
them  while  a  box  is  in  the  district,  so  that  the  parents  may 
become  acquainted  with  good  reading  matter  for  children. 

The  large  boxes   for   the  graded  schools  each  contain 
more  books,  of  course.    Box  5  contains  the  following  : 

I    Tarr    and    McMurry's    North 

America. 
I  Drysdale's  The  Treasury  Club. 
I  Grinnell's     Neighbors    of    the 

Field  and  Air. 
I  Fiske's  History  of  the  United 

States. 
I  Eggleston's  The   Graysons  :  a 

Story  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
I  Fisher's  The  Colonial  Era. 
I  Seton's  Krag  and  Johnny  Bear. 
I  Miller's  The   Second  Book  of 

Birds. 
I  Barbour's  For  the  Honor  of  the 

School. 
I  Stevenson's  Child's  Garden  of 

Verse. 
I  Wilson's  Division  and  Reunion. 
I  Needham's  Outdoor  Studies. 
I  Andrews's  Seven  Little  Sisters, 

etc. 
I  Baldwin's   Old   Stories  of   the 

East. 
I  Menefee's  Old  Stories  from  the 

Masters. 


12  Cyr's  Fourth  Reader. 

I  Carroll's  Around  the  World. 

I  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pon- 
tiac  (Vols.  I  and  II). 

I  Parkman's  Count  Frontenac, 
etc. 

I  Blanchan's  How  to  Attract 
Birds. 

I  Coffin's  Boys  of  '''jd. 

I  Thompson's  My  Winter  Gar- 
den. 

I  Clark's  How  to  Teach  Read- 
ing. 

I  Holder's  Animal  Life. 

I  Greene's  King  Arthur  and  his 
Court. 

I  Baldwin's  Discovery  of  the 
Old  Northwest. 

I  Miller's  First  Book  of  Birds. 

I  Plympton's  Flower  of  the  Wil- 
derness. 

I  Winship's  Great  American 
Educators. 

I  Drake's  Making  of  New  Eng- 
land, 


114 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


I  Stoddard's  Crowded  Out  o'  Cro- 
field. 

I  Blanclian's  Nature's  Garden. 

I  The  World's  Work,  November, 
1902,  to  April,  1903. 

I  London's  Call  of  the  Wild. 

I  Butler's  Meaning  of  Education. 

I  Riis's  Making  of  an  American. 

I  Brooks's  Century  Book  of 
American  Colonies. 

I  Deming's  Indian  Child  Life. 

I  Chenery's  As  the  Twig  is  Bent. 

I  Zollinger's  Widow  O'Galla- 
gher's  Boys. 

I  Arnold's  Waymarks  for  Teach- 
ers. 

I  Beard's  American  Girl's  Handy 
Book. 

I  Beard's  King  and  his  Wonder- 
ful Castle. 

I  Allen's  Navy  Blue. 

I  Robinson's  Improvement  of 
Towns  and  Cities. 

I  True's  The  Iron  Star. 

i  Johnson's  World's  Discoverers. 

I  Ea.stman's  Indian  Boyhood. 

I  Henderson's  Social  Spirit  in 
America. 


I  Du  Bois's  Point  of  Contact  in 
Teaching. 

I  Burroughs's  Pepacton. 

I  Hancock's  Life  at  West  Point. 

I  Stephens's  Phelps  and  his 
Teachers. 

I  Knapp's  Story  of  the  Philip- 
pines. 

I  Barbour's  Captain  of  the  Crew. 

I  Smith's  Life  in  Asia. 

I  Wade's  Little  Cuban  Cousin. 

I  Eckstrom's  The  Bird  Book. 

I  Smith's  Under  the  Cactus  Flag. 

I  Brigham's  Geographic  Influ- 
ences. 

I  George's  Little  Journeys  to 
Cuba. 

I  Parkman's  The  Oregon  Trail. 

I  Chautauquan,  January,  Febru- 
ary, March, 1904  (bound  vol.). 

I  The  World's  Work,  January, 
February,  March,  1904 
(bound  vol.). 

I  Country  Life  in  America,  Janu- 
ary, February,  March,  1904 
(bound  vol.). 

I  Holton  and  Rollins's  Industrial 
Work  in  Public  Schools. 


Some  of  the  above  books  are  suitable  for  high-school  pupils 
in  villages,  and  some  are  for  professional  reading  for  teachers 
to  enable  them  to  do  the  work  outlined  by  the  county  super- 
intendent for  the  current  year.  The  township  library  lists  of 
books  issued  annually  by  the  state  superintendent  of  Wis- 
consin for  the  past  six  years  have  been  of  invaluable  assist- 
ance in  the  selection  of  books  for  the  traveling  libraries. 

A  school  library,  whether  travehng  or  stationary,  will  be 
of  httle  value  unless  teachers  make  right  use  of  it.  Indeed, 
it  may  do  much  harm.    The  average  teacher  in  the  country 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  II5 

schools  has  much  yet  to  learn  about  the  use  of  the  school 
library.  They  are  not  to  be  blamed,  for  they  have  never 
had  books  to  work  with  or  any  opportunity  to  learn  how  to 
use  them.  The  teachers  need  to  be  shown  how  to  use  books. 
For  six  years  we  have  had  a  library  hour  at  the  annual 
teachers'  institute  the  last  week  of  March.  Several  hun- 
dred volumes  of  books  were  generously  loaned  us  by  the 
Rockford  Public  Librar)',  and  an  hour  was  set  apart  each 
day  for  reading.  For  the  last  two  years  the  county  super- 
intendent conducted  the  daily  exercise  on  library  work. 
The  following  topics  were  discussed  : 

1.  Value  of  different  kinds  of  books. 

2.  The  teacher  and  the  care  of  books. 

3.  Are  children  interested  in  reading .''    If  not,  how  to  interest  them, 

4.  How  shall  the  teacher  teach  children  to  read  ? 

5.  Relation  of  library  reading  to  school  work. 

6.  How  to  become  acquainted  with  books. 

7.  What  does  the  teacher  need  to  do  to  make  better  use  of  the 
library  and  to  direct  children? 

8.  Library  reading  in  the  district  schools.    When.-*  Why?  How? 

9.  Children's  reports  on  books  read. 

10.  Statements  by  teachers  of  work  done  the  past  year  with 
library  books  in  school. 

I  I.  Reports  and  discussions  of  work  assigned  various  teachers  by 
the  county  superintendent  during  institute  week. 

For  the  last  topic  the  following  outline  was  printed  for 
each  teacher  as  a  guide  when  reading  a  book  : 

1.  Kind  of  literature? 

2.  Suitable  for  what  grade  to  read? 

3.  May  be  read  to  what  grade  ? 

4.  General  theme  of  the  book  ? 

5.  Why  is  the  book  interesting  to  children? 

6.  What  in  the  books  is  valuable  for  the  child  as  literature  ? 

7.  Give  a  general  report  of  the  contents. 


ll6       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

A  recent  library  number  of  the  Outlook  says  : 

The  teacher  must  be  a  constant  and  interested  reader  of  the  books 
he  is  demanding  his  pupils  to  read.  He  must  know  and  enjoy  his 
Robinson  Crusoe  and  Alice  in  Wonderland,  his  Being  a  Boy  and 
Little  Women.  His  knowledge  of  juvenile  literature  should  not  be 
merely  a  shadowy  reminiscence.  The  teacher  who  has  ceased  to  read 
the  grade  of  books  wliich  make  a  normal  appeal  to  the  immature 
minds  of  his  pupils  is  beginning  to  lose  his  usefulness  ;  for  he  owes 
it  to  his  students  not  merely  to  tell  them  the  titles  of  the  books  to 
read,  but  to  stimulate  them  and  sympathize  with  them  from  his  own 
vital  interest.  Many  a  teacher  has  been  kept  fresh  for  his  profes- 
sional work  by  his  reading  of  children's  books. 

Libraries  in  country  schools  should  aid  in  cultivating  a 
taste  for  good  reading  and  should  supply  material  for  sup- 
plementary study  in  regular  school  work.  But  what  is  the 
use  of  all  the  energy  and  money  expended  in  putting  libraries 
into  country  schools  if  the  right  use  is  not  made  of  the 
books  ?  They  should  not  be  thrown  about  over  the  room 
or  be  tumbled  promiscuously  into  the  library  case.  Every 
school  should  have  a  library  case  if  possible.  I  have  seen 
books  well  taken  care  of  in  a  common  dry-goods  box,  with 
shelves  and  curtains  arranged  by  the  teacher.  Such  an 
arrangement  is  infinitely  better  than  nothing,  and  the  cost 
is  nominal.  The  best  library  educational  work  that  I  ever 
saw  was  in  a  district  school,  where  a  good  library  case  had 
been  secured  by  the  teacher  and  children  as  a  premium 
for  selling  soap.  The  books  were  nicely  arranged  on  the 
shelves  by  grades,  and  a  pupil  was  appointed  librarian  for 
two  weeks.  It  was  that  pupil's  business  for  that  period 
to  see  that  the  books  were  kept  in  good  order  and  in  their 
proper  places.  At  the  end  of  two  weeks  some  other  pupil 
was  appointed  librarian.  Thus  the  children  were  made  re- 
sponsible, and  they  were  receiving  valuable  training  in  the 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  I17 

care  of  books.  Here  was  positive  direction  for  good  results, 
instead  of  the  negative  "Don't  misuse  books,"  coming  as 
a  command  from  the  teacher.  And  the  principle  is  funda- 
mental all  through  school  work.  Its  successful  application 
depends  upon  the  tact  and  patience  of  the  teacher. 

In  addition  to  instructing  teachers  how  to  make  use  of 
books  and  how  to  become  acquainted  with  books  suitable 
for  children  during  the  annual  institute,  another  important 
phase  of  library  work  has  been  going  on  at  the  same  time. 
Mention  has  been  made  of  this  feature  in  Chapter  V,  where 
a  course  in  art  reading  was  used  in  connection  with  picture 
study.  For  six  years  books  from  the  Rockford  Public  Li- 
brary have  been  used  at  the  annual  institute  to  carry  out 
courses  of  instruction  in  other  subjects,  such  as  nature  study, 
[)edagog)',  and  United  States  history.  The  instructor  in 
those  subjects  puts  the  references  on  the  blackboard,  and 
the  student  teachers  have  one  hour  each  day  to  read  them. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  say  what  subject  is  most  poorly 
taught  in  the  country  school.  Enough  to  say  that  the 
teaching  of  United  States  history  can  be  improved.  This 
is  doubtless  true  of  other  subjects.  It  is  an  easy  and 
pleasant  task  to  contemplate  an  ideal  course  in  United 
States  history,  to  be  taught  by  a  teacher  who  knozus  his- 
tory, —  a  college  graduate  supplied  with  a  number  of  library 
books  and  maps  for  class-room  work.  But  to  say  the  most 
helpful  thing  is  not  an  easy  task  for  a  teacher  who  does 
not  kjiow  history,  who  is  not  even  a  high-school  graduate, 
whose  school  district  has  not  a  single  library  book  or  a 
wall  map  of  the  United  States,  and  whose  pupils  are  sup- 
plied with  text-books  a  quarter  of  a  century  old.  Every 
teacher  should  pursue  a  course  of  reading  in  United  States 
history. 


ii8       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

The  following  list,  prepared  by  a  noted  author  of  school 
histories,  is  offered  as  containing  a  small  number  of  what 
he  regards  as  the  most  important  and  useful  books  for 
study  and  reference,  most  or  all  of  which  can  be  found  in 
any  good  library : 

A  Short  List  of  Books  on  American  History 

Bibliography 

Channing   and    Hart's    Guide    to   the    Study  of   American    History 
( 1 492-1 865). 

Historical  Geography  and  Maps 

Hart's  Epoch  Maps  of  the  United  States  (no  text). 
MacCoun's    Historical    Geography    of    the    United    States    (revised 
edition). 

General  Histories 

Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History,  8  vols,  (to  1887,  but  not 

including  the  period  of  the  Civil  War). 
Bancroft's  United  States,  6  vols,  (revised  edition)  (to  1789). 
Bryant  and  Gay's  United  States,  5  vols,  (revised  edition)  (to  1896). 
Higginson's  Larger  History  of  the  United  States  (to  1903). 
Hart's  Epochs  of  American  History,  3  vols.  (1492-1889).    The  best 

single  work  there  is. 
McMaster's  United  States,  4  vols,  (i  784-1 820). 

Works  of  Reference 
Harper's  Book  of  Facts. 

Larned's  History  for  Ready  Reference,  5  vols. 
Hart's  Source  Book  of  American  History. 
Macdonald's  Select  Documents  of  United  States  History. 
Hart's  American  History  told  by  Contemporaries,  4  vols. 
Wright's  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States. 
Johnston's  American  Politics. 

Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  United  States  History  (revised  edition). 
Bryce's  American  Commonwealth,  2  vols,  (revised  edition). 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  119 

Boynton's  School  Civics. 

Scudder's  American  Commonwealths  (a  series  of  volumes  giving  the 

histories  of  the  states,  by  eminent  writers). 
Sparks's  American  Biography.  25  vols. 

Morse's  American  Statesmen  (a  series  of  volumes  by  able  writers). 
Appleton's  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Biography,  6  vols. 

I.  Pp:riod  of  Discovery  (1492-1521) 
Fiske's  North  America,  2  vols. 

II.  Period  of  Exploration  and  Spanish  Colonization  of 
America  (i 509-1 5S7) 

Parkman's  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World. 
Cooke's  \'irginia.^ 

III.  Period  of  Permanent  E.nglish  and  French  Settlements 
(1607-1763) 

Fiske's  The  Beginnings  of  New  England. 

Parkman's  The  Discovery  of  the  Great  West.'- 

Drake's  Making  of  the  Great  West. 

Biography.  See  Sparks's  American  Biography  for  Lives  of  Nathan- 
iel Bacon,  Daniel  Boone,  Lord  Baltimore  (Calvert),  Jonathan 
Edwards,  John  Eliot  Patrick  Henry,  Anne  Hutchinson,  John 
Ledyard,  Cotton  Mather,  Governor  Oglethorpe,  James  Otis, 
Sir  W.  Phips,  William  Penn,  Count  Rumford  (Benjamin  Thomp- 
son), Captain  John  Smith,  Roger  Williams,  Governor  Winthrop ; 
Bigelow's  Benjamin  Franklin,  3  vols.;  Montgomery  and  Trent's 
Franklin's  Autobiography. 

IV.  The  Revolution  and  the  Constitution  (i 763-1 7S9) 

Lodge's  American  Revolution,  2  vols. 

Lossing's  Pictorial  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,  2  vols. 

Fiske's  American  Revolution,  2  vols. 

Scudder's  America  One  Hundred  Years  Ago. 

^  In  Scudder's  American  Commonwealth  Series. 

2  This  work  deals,  more  or  less  directly,  with  our  relations  with  the 
French  and  the  Indians  in  the  colonial  period. 


I20  AMONO  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Fiske's  Critical  Period  in  American  History. 

Bioi^raphy.  Parker's  Historic  Americans,  Bigelow's  Franklin,  3  vols., 
Hosmer's  Samuel  Adams,*  Morse's  Jolin  Adams,i  Greene's  General 
Greene,  2  vols.,  Lodge's  Washington,  2  vols., 1  Fiske's  Irving's  Wash- 
ington and  his  Country,  Sparks's  American  Biography,  Lodge's 
Hamilton,!  Q^y's  Madison,*  Roosevelt's  Gouverneur  Morris.* 

V.  The  Union.    National  Dkvelopment  (1789-1861) 

Rhodes's  United  States,  3  vols,  (i  850-1861). 

Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  War  of  18 12. 

Johnston's  American  Orations,  4  vols. 

Webster's  Great  Speeches  (Whipple's  edition). 

Quincy's  Figures  of  the  Past. 

Biography.  See  in  Morse's  American  Statesmen  Series,  the  Lives  of 
John  Adams,  J.  Q.  Adams,  Benton,  Calhoun,  Clay,  Jackson,  Jeffer- 
son, Madison,  Monroe,  Randolph,  Washington,  and  Webster;  in 
Sparks's  American  Biography,  the  Lives  of  Fulton  and  Rumford  ; 
Redpath's  John  Brown,  Johnson's  Garrison,  Prime's  Morse,  Rice's 
Morton,  Abbott's  Kit  Carson,  Upham's  Fremont,  Parton's  Famous 
Americans,  Mrs.  Stowe's  Men  of  our  Times,  Hunt's  American 
Merchants,  Lodge  and  Roosevelt's  Hero  Tales  from  American 
History. 

.    VI.  The  Period  of  the  Civii,  War  (1861-1865) 

Greeley's  American  Conflict,  2  vols. 

Dodge's  Bird's-Eye  View  of  the  Civil  War. 

McPherson's  Political  History  of  the  Rebellion. 

Biography.  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Abraham  Lincoln,  Holland's  Lincoln, 
Herndon's  Lincoln,  3  vols.,  Thayer's  Lincoln,  Carpenter's  Six 
Months  in  the  White  House,  McClellan's  Own  Story,  Roman's 
Beauregard,  2  vols.,  Badeau's  U.  S.  Grant,  3  vols.,  Grant's  Personal 
Memoirs,  2  volii.,  Sherman's  Memoirs,  2  vols.,  Sheridan's  Memoirs, 
2  vols.,  Farragut's  Life  of  Farragut,  Schuckers's  Life  of  S.  P.  Chase, 
Cooke's  Robert  E.  Lee,  Cooke's  "  Stonewall "  Jackson,  Johnston 
and  Browne's  Life  of  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  Alfriend's  Life  of 
Jefferson  Davis,  Pollard's  Life  of  Jefferson  Davis. 

^  In  Morse's  American  Statesmen  Series. 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  121 

VII.  Reconstruction.    The  New  N.\tio.\  (1S65  to  the  Present 

Time) 

Andrews's  Last  Quarter  of  a  Century  (1S75-1895). 
Andrews's  United  States  at  the  Present  Time  (1904),  i  vol. 
Wilson's  Lives  of  the  Presidents  (1789-1S93). 
Johnston's  American  Politics. 
Bryce's  American  Commonwealth,  2  vols. 

The  study  of  United  States  history  received  much  atten- 
tion at  the  last  annual  meeting  of  our  county  institute. 
The  Rockford  Public  Library  loaned  the  institute  a  large 
assortment  of  works  on  history,  —  more  than  a  hundred 
and  twenty-five  volumes,  —  suitable  for  a  study  of  the 
development  of  the  spirit  of  nationality.  Mace's  MetJiod 
in  History  had  been  used  in  local  institute  work  in  various 
centers  in  the  county  during  the  months  previous  to  the 
annual  institute. 

As  to  the  objects  and  results  of  the  use  of  books  on  United 
States  history  in  connection  with  instruction  in  that  subject 
at  the  annual  teachers'  institute,  Principal  B.  D.  Parker 
of  the  Rockford  High  School,  who  was  institute  instructor, 
says  in  an  article  in  School  and  Home  Education : 

The  main  objects  were  (i)  to  endeavor  to  bring  to  the  minds  of 
the  teachers  of  the  county  a  realization  of  the  wealth  of  material 
upon  the  history  of  our  country,  and,  by  leading  them  out  of  the 
brief  text-book  to  the  broader  fields,  to  inspire  them  with  the  desire 
to  know  and  to  teach  real  history  rather  than  outlines,  dates,  and 
memory  devices  ;  (2)  that  the  teachers  might  get  a  start  in  a  small 
way  toward  seeing  our  history  as  a  history  of  the  growth  of  ideas, 
instead  of  groups  of  events  bound  together  by  nothing  but  similarity 
in  time  ;  (3)  to  provide  a  scheme  of  instruction  which  should  appeal 
to  the  one  who  had  had  little  opportunity  for  historical  study,  be 
interesting  to  him  who  had  begun  to  see  the  possibilities  ahead,  and 
give  opportunity  to  the  more  advanced  student  teacher  to  revel  in 
that  which    he    loved.     (4)  These   objects  were  to    be   gained  not 


122 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


through  lengthy  discourses  by  the  instructor,  but  from  contact  with 
the  great  historical  writers  of  the  world.  The  duty  of  the  instructor 
was  simply  to  act  as  the  introduction  committee  and  then  to  keep  out 
of  the  way  and  allow  the  newly  formed  friendships  to  grow. 

Of  the  results  Mr.  Parker  says  : 

The  first  result  was  the  enthusiasm  and  earnestness  with  which  the 
teachers  took  up  the  work.  The  spirit. shown  by  them  was  an  inspi- 
ration.   Each  dav  from  the  time  they  entered  the  library  room  till 


Fu;.  65.    The  Winnebago  Couuiy  IJoaid  of  Supervisors 


the  close  of  that  period  their  attitude  was  one  of  work.  The  "  Let  us 
have  a  good  time"  feeling  which  mars  some  institutes  had  no  place. 
A  good  time  was  had,  but  it  was  because  of  good  work  being  done. 
The  college  graduate  and  the  teacher  from  the  country  school  were 
there,  and  each  found  something  to  his  liking. 

Under  the  new  unification  system  in  New  York  State 
the  state  Hbrary  and  the  library  school  have  been  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Department  of  Education.    The  first  annual 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  1 23 

report  under  the  new  organization,  issued  by  Commissioner 
Draper,  states  that  "  it  is  fundamental  that  there  should  be 
in  every  class  room  a  library  or  collection  of  at  least  a  few 
good  books  suited  to  the  intelligence  and  intellectual  devel- 
opment of  the  children  in  that  room." 

There  are  1,227,317  volumes  in  the  elementary  school 
libraries,  an  increase  of  246,063  volumes  for  the  year  1904. 
The  state  appropriates  $55,000  annually  for  libraries,  dis- 
tributed among  districts  in  proportion  to  money  raised  by 
the  districts  and  under  regulations  established  by  the  De- 
partment of  Education.    The  following  table  is  of  interest: 

Number  of  common-school  districts  sharing  in  fund      .     .     .     1206 

Number  of  union  districts  sharing  in  fund 189 

Number  of  cities  sharing  in  fund 39 

Amount  granted  to  common-school  districts     ....     $10,503.48 

Amount  granted  to  union  districts 4,236.29 

Amount  granted  to  cities 30,649.13 

Number  of  books  bought  by  districts 97,668 

Number  of  books  bought  by  cities       225,288 

The  school-library  section  added  to  the  unification  law  of 
1904  is  designed  to  increase  the  extent  and  effectiveness 
of  libraries  for  schools.  The  school  library  is  the  only 
library  for  many  communities,  and  is  a  means  of  creating 
sentiment  for  new  public  libraries.  One  instance  of  this  is 
where  the  traveling  school  library  in  the  Seward  Consoli- 
dated School  in  Illinois  has  led  to  the  organization  of  the 
Seward  Public  Library  of  several  hundred  volumes.  This 
fund  was  raised  by  private  subscription,  and  the  books 
were  placed  in  the  library  room  of  the  school  building. 

In  New  York  each  of  the  eleven  thousand  school  districts 
is  urged  to  send  its  list  of  books  to  the  Library  Bureau 
of  the  Department  of  Education,  and  every  encouragement 
is  given  by  the  bureau  to  help  along  the  library  sentiment 


124  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

all  over  the  state.  The  teachers'  library  of  six  thousand 
volumes  has  been  combined  with  the  traveling  libraries,  and 
thus  good  pedagogical  books  go  out  to  the  teachers  in  the 
country  schools  as  well  as  in  other  schools. 

The  traveling  libraries  of  New  York  began  in  1892  with 
a  half-dozen  libraries  as  an  experiment.  Now  there  are  one 
thou.sand  traveling  libraries,  with  a  total  of  67,753  books, 
which  are  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  state.  They  have  ceased  to 
be  an  experiment,  and  the  "plan  has  been  copied  by  almost 
every  state  in  the  Union,  and  is  accepted  as  a  regular  form  of 
library  work  yielding  the  largest  returns  compared  to  its  cost." 

The  Library  Bureau  is  also  assisting  in  art  education  in 
New  York  State.  There  are  traveling  art  exhibits  of  1586 
large  pictures  of  "the  finest  subjects  and  the  best  edition"; 
also  21,069  mounted  photographs.  All  these  are  loaned  to 
libraries,  schools,  etc.,  for  six  months  at  a  time,  to  be  hung 
on  the  walls  "  with  proper  labels  and  notes  to  increase  their 
educational  value."  And  not  the  least  of  the  great  work 
done  by  the  Library  Bureau  is  the  loaning  of  24,458  lantern 
slides,  together  with  the  lanterns,  screens,  and  attachments 
for  oil,  oxyhydrogen,  acetylene,  or  electric  light.  The  report 
of  the  bureau  says : 

The  growing  demand  is  less  significant  than  tlie  general  accept- 
ance by  schools,  libraries,  and  clubs  of  pictures  as  having  a  proper 
place  beside  books  as  a  great  factor  in  educational  work.  The  library 
has  been  a  pioneer  in  broadening  this  field,  and  its  experience  and 
methods  are  widely  utilized  by  others. 

Besides  all  the  above  the  bureau  sends  out  "house 
libraries."  These  are  libraries  of  ten  volumes  each,  loaned 
to  any  home  for  three  months  for  a  fee  of  one  dollar  to  cover 
transportation  both  ways.  This  is  the  "plan  for  extending 
through  traveling  libraries  the  privileges  of  the  state  library 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  1 25 

to  the  rural  population  living  too  far  from  the  nearest  public 
library  to  make  its  contents  conveniently  available."  These 
libraries  are  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  country  home,  and 
as  far  as  practicable  are  made  up  from  lists  submitted  by 
the  home  wishing  one  of  the  house  libraries. 

The  state  of  Massachusetts  publishes  no  specific  litera- 
ture on  the  improvement  of  the  country  school  as  such. 
In  that  state  the  district  or  town  system  of  expert  supervision 
is  relied  upon  to  raise  the  standard  of  the  country  schools. 

The  report  of  the  Free  Public  Library  Commission  of 
Massachusetts  for  1905  is  crowded  with  data  showing  how 
the  public  library  is  aiding  the  work  of  the  public  schools. 
Weymouth  reports  that  twenty-five  to  thirty  books  each  "are 
now  sent  every  two  months  to  seven  distant  schools,  whose 
pupils  otherwise  would  receive  little  help  from  the  public 
library."  It  is  fair  to  presume  that  these  "  distant  schools  " 
are  one-room  country  schools.  Many  cities  report  assist- 
ance rendered  schools,  presumably  city  schools,  in  the  way  of 
traveling  libraries,  special  lists  for  children,  special  teachers' 
cards,  and  the  like.  As  was  said  above,  since  there  is  no 
special  literature  published  by  the  state  on  the  country 
school,  it  is  hard  for  one  not  acquainted  with  the  town  sys- 
tem of  Massachusetts  to  tell  accurately  from  the  report  of 
the  Free  Public  Library  Commission  what  is  done  for  the 
country  school  as  distinguished  from  the  village  or  city  school. 
This  book  concerns  itself  principally  wath  the  country 
school,  as  its  title,  Ajiiong  Country  Schools,  would  indicate. 

Mention  must  be  made  of  the  work  of  the  Women's 
Education  Association  in  the  way  of  increasing  the  library 
interests  of  Massachusetts.  It  now  has  fifty  traveling 
libraries  containing  141 7  volumes,  with  libraries  on  such 
special  subjects  as  Venice,  Florence,  Shakespeare,  English 


126  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

architecture,  Rome,  Italian  art,  Egypt,  French  art,  Spanish 
art,  and  religion.  The  number  of  localities  receiving  benefit 
from  these  traveling  libraries  is  forty-nine,  probably  almost 
all  being  country  localities  too  far  removed  from  some 
public  library  situated  in  a  city.  Besides  these  collections 
of  books  the  association  has  twenty-four  sets  of  pictures 
which  have  been  loaned  for  one  hundred  and  forty-nine 
exhibitions  at  one  hundred  and  four  different  places. 

State  Superintendent  Miller  of  West  Virginia  writes  of 
the  work  in  that  state  regarding  the  effort  to  supply  the 
country  school  with  libraries  : 

For  some  years  school  libraries  in  the  towns  and  cities  of  West 
Virginia  have  been  growing  quite  rapidly,  but  not  until  recently  has 
much  attention  been  given  to  the  question  of  furnishing  good  litera- 
ture to  the  pupils  in  country  schools.  Interest  in  this  work  has 
increased,  however,  and  on  last  Library  Day,  which,  in  1905,  was 
observed  on  the  second  Friday  in  December,  instead  of  the  first  as 
heretofore,  it  is  believed  that  about  fifty  thousand  volumes  were  added 
to  the  school  libraries  of  country  districts  alone.  This  brings  the 
number  of  books  within  reach  of  the  pupils  in  the  di-strict  schools 
up  to  about  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand.  In  this  reckoning  no 
account  is  taken  of  high-school,  city,  or  public  libraries. 

Various  methods  were  used  by  which  to  raise  funds  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books.  In  many  places  an  admittance  fee  was  charged  to  a 
little  entertainment  proposed  for  the  occasion;  in  other  communities 
contributions  of  money  and  books  were  received,  while,  still  further, 
boards  of  education  duplicated  the  amount  that  was  raised  by  the 
school.  One  country  school  reports  one  hundred  and  one  dollars  as 
the  result  of  its  own  effort  for  books,  while  another  in  a  remote 
interior  section  of  the  state  raised  fifty-nine  dollars.  Of  course,  in 
some  of  the  towns  and  thickly  settled  communities  the  receipts  were 
much  larger.  A  very  encouraging  feature  of  the  work  is  the  fact  that 
not  only  are  pupils  interested  in  the  library  effort,  but  the  citizens  are 
contributing  liberally  to  it  and  heartily  aiding  the  movement  that  will 
give  our  youth  a  better  class  of  literature. 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  1 27 

In  the  selection  of  books  the  aim  has  been,  even  with  a  small 
collection,  to  choose  books  suited  to  the  needs  and  comprehension 
of  pupils  in  the  different  grades.  Neither  are  the  young  men  and 
women  out  of  school  nor  the  fathers  and  mothers  at  home  forgotten. 
The  vocations  of  the  people  are  also  considered.  For  instance,  books 
on  elementary  agriculture,  fruit  growing,  poultry  raising,  etc.,  have 
been  chosen  for  different  sections  where  the  people  were  especially 
interested  in  these  industries.  Not  only  are  books  obtained  for  the 
libraries,  but  good  periodicals  as  well,  especial  emphasis  being  placed 
upon  good  illustrated  magazines.  While  in  many  districts  at  first  the 
smaller  and  cheaper  books  must  necessarily  be  purchased,  we  feel 
that  this  is  a  good  beginning,  if  the  books  are  carefully  selected,  and 
that  when  the  reading  habit  is  once  formed  in  a  community  the  inter- 
est will  increase,  and  books  of  a  more  valuable  make-up  and  possibly 
of  a  higher  literary  character  will  replace  those  first  introduced. 

Since  June  30,  1902,  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
country-school  hbraries  have  been  estabhshed  in  North 
Carolina.  These  libraries  contain  one  hundred  thousand 
volumes  and  are  valued  at  $40,000.  The  Woman's  Associ- 
ation for  the  Betterment  of  Public  Schoolhouses  in  North 
Carolina  has  had  a  great  part  in  this  work.  The  story  of 
the  work  of  this  association  is  told  in  another  chapter. 

The  legislature  of  North  Carolina  has  passed  an  act  to 
aid  the  country-school  libraries.  It  provides  that  where  the 
patrons  and  friends  of  a  country  school  raise  ten  dollars  for 
a  Hbrary  the  state  will  give  a  like  amount.  Provision  for  this 
is  by  appropriation  of  the  County  Board  of  Education,  which 
also  looks  after  the  selection  of  the  books  and  their  care 
after  purchase.  In  one  year  after  the  passage  of  the  act 
three  hundred  and  fifty-five  libraries  were  established  in 
seventy-eight  of  the  ninety-six  counties  of  the  state,  at  an 
expenditure  of  $3550  by  the  state  and  $7100  by  the  coun- 
ties and  local  communities,  making  a  total  expenditure  of 
$10,650. 


128  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

A  recent  bulletin  issued  by  the  Southern  Education 
Board  gives  an  account  of  the  establishment  of  country- 
school  libraries  in  one  county  in  Tennessee.  This  but  illus- 
trates the  new  day  coming  for  the  country  child  all  over 
the  South  land.  The  county  referred  to  is  Polk  County, 
where  in  one  year,  as  the  result  of  aggressive  work  of  the 
county  superintendent,  thirty-nine  country-school  libraries 
were  established  at  a  total  cost  of  ^1857.50,  to  be  paid  in 
three  annual  installments. 

In  1903  there  were  sixty-nine  traveling  libraries  in 
Tennessee  under  the  control  of  the  Women's  Federation. 
The  South  Carolina  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  has 
sixty-four  traveling  libraries  which  circulate  in  nearly  every 
county  of  the  state,  the  railroads  furnishing  free  transporta- 
tion. The  Texas  Federation  has  fifty-seven  traveling  libra- 
ries which  are  sent  to  the  country  schools  of  that  state. 


CHAPTER  VII 
A    FARMER    BOYS'    EXPERIMENT   CLUB 

"  Country-school  extension  work  "  is  perhaps  a  new  term, 
but  some  way  should  be  devised  to  reach  the  great  number 
of  country  boys  and  girls  who  for  various  reasons  quit  the 
district  school  when  they  are  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old 
and  do  not  go  to  a  city  or  village  high  school.  Here  is  one 
strong  argument  for  the  consolidated  school  with  its  high- 
school  course  of  at  least  two  years.  It  is  quite  difficult  for 
many  adults  on  the  farm,  and  even  for  those  living  in  cities, 
to  realize  the  changes  that  have  come  into  the  country 
school  with  reference  to  attendance.  Invariably  they  think 
of  the  old-fashioned  country  school,  with  an  attendance  of 
seventy  or  eighty  pupils,  many  of  them  being  boys  and 
girls  over  eighteen  years  of  age.  Large  classes  were  the 
rule,  and  the  school  was  generally  taught  by  a  strong  man, 
morally,  intellectually,  and  perhaps  physically. 

In  another  chapter  will  be  found  data  with  reference  to 
the  small  country  school  in  various  states.  It  is  sufficient 
to  state  here  that  about  one  half  of  the  one  hundred  and 
six  one-room  country  schools  of  Winnebago  County  for  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1905,  had  a  total  enrollment  of  fifteen 
pupils  or  less.  I  was  interested  to  know  how  many  boys 
and  girls  over  fourteen  years  of  age  were  enrolled  in  those 
one  hundred  and  six  one-room  country  schools.  For  the 
month  of  December,  1904,  the  teachers  reported  the  exact 
number.    This  month  was  taken,  for  if  the  big  boys  and 

129 


I30  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

girls  are  in  school  at  all  during  the  year,  it  is  in  December 
after  the  corn  husking  is  finished. 

The  number  of  boys  over  fourteen  years  old  was  re- 
ported to  be  one  hundred  and  sixty-three,  or  an  average 
of  one  and  one  half  to  each  country  school.  The  number  of 
girls  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  in  the  same  number 
of  schools,  or  an  average  of  one  and  one  sixth.  A  consid- 
erable number  of  the  schools  have  no  large  pupils,  and  so 
the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  the  small  school  will  not 
reach  the  class  of  pupils  it  should  reach.  Where  are  the  big 
boys  and  girls  ?  State  Superintendent  Riggs  of  Iowa  reports 
that  there  are  ten  thousand  country  children  of  that  state 
paying  tuition  to  attend  city  schools.    Why  is  this.? 

One  object,  then,  of  the  organization  of  the  Winnebago 
County  Farmer  Boys'  Experiment  Club  was  to  try  to  inter- 
est the  big  boys  in  the  work  of  the  Illinois  College  of  Agri- 
culture and  the  Experiment  Station.  The  membership  is 
not  limited  to  boys  who  have  quit  the  district  school,  but 
includes  any  boy  who  wishes  to  join,  whether  in  school  or 
out  of  school.  It  is  quite  likely  that  there  are  many  coun- 
ties in  Illinois  and  other  states  where  the  old-time  country 
school  obtains,  with  twenty  or  thirty  large  pupils  in  attend- 
ance for  at  least  five  months  of  the  year,  and  all  taught 
by  a  well-trained  normal  graduate  receiving  from  sixty-five 
to  eighty-five  dollars  per  month.  Pupils  in  such  schools  do 
not  need  to  go  to  city  schools  for  an  education;  but  such 
schools  with  such  teachers  are  not  found  in  the  country 
districts  of  Winnebago  County  or  in  many  other  counties, 
if  the  statistics  of  various  state  superintendents  report  the 
actual  condition  of  things.  However  that  may  be,  I  felt 
it  my  duty  to  know  the  exact  situation  in  my  own  county 
and  then  try  to  better  the  educational  opportunities  for  the 
country  children  under  my  charge. 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB 


131 


Our  Boys'  Experiment  Club  was  organized  in  the  office 
of  the  County  Superintendent  of  Schools  at  Rockford  on 
February  22,  1902,  the  day  following  the  close  of  the  state 
farmers'  institute,  which  was  held  at  Rockford  that  year. 
The  charter  members  of  the  club  number  thirty-seven 
boys,  who  met  in  my  office  that  morning  and  listened  to 
brief  talks  by  Professor  Shamel  of  the  Illinois  College  of 


Fig.  66.    Some  Prize  Winners,  Members  of  the  Winnebago  County 
Farmer  Boys'  Experiment  Club 

Agriculture  and  Superintendent  Fred  Rankin  of  the  Agri- 
cultural College  extension  work.  The  club  is  growing  and 
now  numbers  five  hundred  boys  between  nine  and  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  The  expectation  is  to  have  an  increase 
in  numbers  and  interest. 

The  machinery  of  this  organization  is  very  simple.  So 
far  there  is  no  elaborate  constitution  and  by-laws  to  tell 
the  boys  why  they  are  boys  and  what  boys  are  for.  The 
county  superintendent  has  a  list  of  them,  with  the  post- 
office  address  of  each.    Superintendent  Fred  Rankin  of  the 


132 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


Agricultural  College  extension  work  has  a  duplicate  list, 
and  from  each  office  go  circulars,  bulletins,  and  literature 
of  various  kinds,  the  main  object  being  to  keep  in  touch 
with  the  boys,  and  to  interest  them  more  deeply  in  the 
beauty  of  country  life  and  the  worth,  dignity,  and  scientific 
advancement  in  agriculture.    Last  year  about  four  hundred 

young  men  from  the 
various  counties  of 
Illinois  were  enrolled 
in  the  College  of 
Agriculture  in  con- 
nection with  the 
University  of  Illinois 
at  Urbana.  This  is 
something  of  which 
to  be  proud.  But 
they  were  only  four 
hundred  out  of  the 
many  thousands  of 
bright  boys  who 
never  will  attend  the 
College  of  Agricul- 
ture.   A  boys'  club 

Fig.  67.    A  I'li^e  Winner,  Eleven  Years  Old       ^^'^^^  ^^"'^  educational 

excursion  is  one  way 
of  giving  help  and  inspiration  to  the  thousands  of  boys 
who  cannot  get  an  education  at  an  agricultural  college  or 
anywhere  else. 

The  teacher  in  the  country  school  can  be  a  very  impor- 
tant factor  in  this  country-school  extension  work.  The 
bulletins  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  of  the  Experi- 
ment Station  should  be  on  the   reading   table  or  in   the 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB 


133 


library  of  every  country  school.  There  are  many  ways  of 
interesting  the  older  pupils  of  the  district  in  them,  if  the 
teacher  herself  is  interested.  Suggestions  as  to  how  this 
may  be  done,  and  as  to 
the  value  of  experimen- 
tal and  observation  work, 
will  appear  throughout 
the  next  few  chapters. 

The  work  of  the  boys 
since  the  organization  of 
the  club  has  been  as  fol- 
lows:  in  1902,  testing 
vitality  of  various  seeds, 
investigations  with  refer- 
ence to  smut  in  oats,  ex- 
perimenting with  sugar 
beets,  and  growing  corn 
from  seed  furnished  by 
officers  of  the  Winnebago 
County  Institute;  in 
1903,  growing  high-bred 
corn  from  seed  furnished 
by  the  directors  of  the 
Illinois  State  Farmers' 
Institute  at  Springfield ; 
in  1904,  the  same  work 
as  in  1903  ;  in  1905, 
growing  high-bred  corn 
from  seed  furnished  by  officers  of  the  Winnebago  County 
Institute,  and  experiments  with  sugar  beets  from  seed 
furnished  by  the  Rock  County  Sugar  Beet  Company, 
Janesville,   Wisconsin. 


Fig.  68.    A  Prize  Winner,  Twelve 
Years  Old 


134       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

The  first  year,  1902,  the  enrollment  was  not  large,  the 
experimental  work  being  carried  on  by  only  a  few  boys ;  but 
it  was  a  beginning.  The  boys  tested  various  kinds  of  seeds, 
planting  corn  and  noting  growth.  Professor  Shamel  sent 
each  charter  member  an  ear  of  high-bred  corn.  In  making 
investigations  with  reference  to  smut  in  oats,  each  boy  was 
directed  to  go  into  four  different  fields  and  make  three  dif- 
ferent counts  in  the  same  field  by  dropping  a  barrel  hoop 
over  as  many  stalks  of  grain  as  the  hoop  might  inclose,  and 
then  counting  the  number  of  sound  heads  and  also  the 
heads  showing  smut.  The  percentage  of  smut  was  deter- 
mined by  the  boys.  This  was  practical  arithmetic,  just  as 
valuable  educational  material  as  calculating  the  percentage 
of  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  a  great  city  who  live  in 
tenement  houses.    Two  boys  reported  as  follows : 

First  Field 

Average  Number 
Heads  in  Hoop 

First  boy 1 06 

Second  boy 1 57 

Second  Field 

First  boy 203 

Second  boy 206 

Third  Field 

First  boy 213 

Second  boy 181 

Fourth  Field 

First  boy 219  12  5 

Second  boy 240  1 3  c 


Lverage  Number 
Heads  of  Smut 

Average 
per  cent  Smut 

4 

3 

5 

3 

44 
46 

23 
21 

27 
18 

13 
10 

A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB         135 

The  Experiment  Station  at  Urbana  estimates  two  dollars 
per  acre  as  the  loss  from  smut  to  the  farmers  of  Illinois. 
Two  of  the  fields  shown  above  will  go  far  beyond  that. 
One  owner  had  never  heard  of  treatment  of  oat  seed  before 
sowing  to  destroy  smut,  although  the  subject  was  fully  dis- 
cussed at  the  local  farmers'  institute.  Such  work  will  cause 
more  boys  to  attend  the  farmers'  institute. 

The  sugar-beet  experiment  for  1902  was  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Experiment  Station  at  Urbana,  and  was  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  whether  sugar  beets  can  be  grown  with 


Fig.  69.    With  Iligh-lJred  Corn 

profit  in  Illinois.  Only  a  few  boys  planted  seed  that  year. 
For  the  year  1905  seventy-one  boys  volunteered  to  grow 
sugar  beets,  representing  thirty-three  acres.  The  seed,  five 
hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds,  was  furnished  free  by  the 
Rock  County  Sugar  Beet  Company  of  Janesville,  Wisconsin. 
The  complete  returns  of  this  experimental  work  showed 
that  thirty-eight  boys  stayed  in  to  the  end,  and  the  total 
shipment  of  the  beets  raised  by  these  boys  was  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-eight  tons  net  factory  weight.  For  these 
beets  the  boys  received  $590.77,  about  fifteen  dollars  per 


136 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


boy  on  an  average.  The  experiment  demonstrated  that  the 
soil  of  Winnebago  County  is  suitable  for  raising  sugar  beets ; 
it  also  showed  the  value  of  intensive  methods  of  agricul- 
ture. The  largest  yield  was  obtained  from  one  acre  of 
ground ;  it  amounted  to  nearly  eighteen  tons,  and  the  two 
boys  received  $71.19  for  their  work.    Two  other  boys  had 

two  acres  and  re- 
ceived the  same 
amount.  This  illus- 
trates the  value  of 
good  soil  and  culti- 
vation. A  boy  and 
his  sister  got  $14.58 
for  beets  raised  on 
a  plot  of  ground 
50  feet  by  275  feet. 
This  last  furnishes 
material  for  practi- 
cal arithmetic.  At 
this  rate  how  much 
could  be  raised  on 
one  acre,  etc. .'' 

The  Agricultural 
College  Extension 
Department,  under  the  direction  of  Superintendent  Rankin, 
at  my  request,  in  March,  1905,  issued  a  very  complete  bul- 
letin on  "  Some  Facts  about  Sugar  Beets  and  how  to  Grow 
Them."  This  was  mailed  to  every  member  of  the  club. 
Here  is  illustrated  how  the  College  of  Agriculture  and 
the  country  school  can  do  valuable  work. 

The  bulletin  gives  very  clear,  simple  directions  to  the 
boys  about  the  soil  and  its  preparation  for  beets,  seeding, 


I'U;.  70.    With  Iligh-lJrcd  Coin 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB 


137 


cultivation,  bunching  and  thinning,  harvesting,  etc.  The 
following  quotation  from  the  bulletin  shows  its  high  edu- 
cational character : 

The  Sugar  Bef.t  a  Factor  in  American  Agriculture 

Sugar  beets  need  care.  Culture  is  everything  ;  in  fact,  more  atten- 
tion is  required  than  for  most  crops,  but  they  pay  double  or  treble  in 
return.  The  haphazard  methods  so  often  practiced  in  corn  culture 
would  prove  disastrous  in  the  care  of  beets.  Beet  culture  means  a 
higher  grade  of  farminsr.  —  a  more  intensive  agriculture.    Through 


Fig.  71.    A  Sugar-Beet  Grower  1 

the  most  scientific  methods  of  plant  breeding  the  sugar  in  the  beet 
has  been  increased  from  six  to  eighteen  and  twenty  per  cent  in  less 
than  one  hundred  years.  The  sugar  beet  is  a  •'  thoroughbred,"  and, 
like  a  highly  bred  animal,  will  degenerate  under  unfavorable  condi- 
tions. Two  thirds  of  the  sugar  we  consume  comes  from  the  sugar 
beet.  The  consumption  of  sugar  in  America  is  on  the  increase;  each 
man,  woman,  and  child  uses  about  eighty-five  pounds  of  sugar  a  year. 
It  requires  over  $50,000  daily  to  pay  for  the  sugar  consumed  in  Illinois, 
and  it  takes  the  value  of  the  average  oat  crop  of  the  United  States  to 
pay  our  annual  sugar  bill.  An  average  acre  of  sugar  beets  produces 
from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  pounds  of  sugar. 

^  This  member  of  the  club  with  his  brother  has  six  acres  of  beets  (1905), 
with  which  they  hope  to  pay  high-school  and  college  expenses. 


138  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

A  Personal  Talk  on  Sucjar  Bkets 

By  Fred  H.  Rankin,  Superintendent  of  the  Agricultural  College 
Extension  Department,  Urban  a,  Illinois 

The  writer  was  recently  associated  for  two  years  in  the  care  of  gver 
four  hundred  acres  in  sugar  beets  in  central  Illinois,  and  from  this 
practical  experience  believes  that  the  difference  between  thorough, 
intensive,  and  careful  farming,  from  the  beginning  of  the  plowing  to 
the  end  of  the  harvest,  and  slipshod,  half-hearted  work,  is  emphasized 
more  in  successful  beet  culture  than  in  that  of  any  other  crop. 

This  circular  was  prepared  especially  for  the  P'armer  Boys'  Experi- 
ment Club  of  Winnebago  County,  Illinois,  and  others  who  live  near 


Fig.  72.    Sugar-Beet  Growers  ^ 

enough  to  find  a  market  for  their  beets  at  the  Wisconsin  sugar-beet 
factories,  but  we  urge  other  young  people  to  grow  some  beets  or  other 
roots  for  their  live  stock ;  it  will  pay  you  well  for  your  time.  Your 
milch  cows  and  hogs  will  enjoy  this  variety  in  their  feed  and  be  much 
better  for  it,  just  as  you  enjoy  a  variety  of  winter  vegetables.  The 
growing  of  beets  will  not  only  help  the  cow  and  the  pig  but  will  help 
the  boy. 

^  Beet  seed  plus  rich  soil,  plus  moisture,  plus  good  culture,  plus  a 
thinking  boy  equals  sugar  beets.  Try  a  few  rods  square  or  a  quarter 
of  an  acre  in  beets,  following  carefully  the  directions  in  this  circular, 
and,  my  word  for  it,  you  will  find  it  pays.    You  will  be  awakened  to  a 

»  These  two  boys  and  two  older  brothers  have  one  acre  of  sugar  beets. 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB  139 

new  appreciation  of  the  value  of  fertility  in  the  soil.  You  will  find 
that  it  is  something  more  than  "  just  dirt."  You  will  go  to  studying 
the  soils  on  different  parts  of  the  farm.  You  will  want  to  get  better 
acquainted  with  the  soil.  You  will  discuss  it  with  those  who  can  tell 
j'ou  how  the  different  soils  were  made.  You  will  discuss  it  at  your  club 
meetings.  You  will  want  to  read  Experiment  Station  bulletins  and  to 
come  here  to  the  Agricultural  College,  where  they  teach  much  that 
is  known  about  soils,  crop  rotation,  growing  of  corn,  clover,  etc.  Then 
you  will  want  to  know  how  to  feed  these  crops  to  your  live  stock  to 
the  best  advantage,  and  you  will  want  to  learn  more  about  judging  the 
market  grades  and  classes  of  live  stock.  In  short,  you  will  be  studying 
agriculture,  and  be  recognized  as  a  leader  in  better  agricultural  methods. 

Perhaps  all  the  boys  who  receive  this  circular  may  not  feel  like 
undertaking  to  raise  beets.  Very  well ;  some  other  crop  can  be  tried,  — 
a  patch  of  potatoes,  a  piece  of  corn,  or  some  garden  vegetables.  But 
do  not  be  satisfied  with  an  average  crop.  Practice  some  of  the  careful 
intensive  methods  of  farming  that  the  successful  sugar-beet  growers 
follow.   Do  your  level  best,  and,  as  David  Harum  puts  it,  "  do  it  fust." 

Nothing  reveals  character  so  much  as  the  way  you  do  your  work. 
A  botched  job  shows  a  poor  workman,  while  a  good  piece  of  work 
shows  the  honesty  of  your  purpose,  adds  to  your  manhood,  and  secures 
the  confidence  of  all  who  have  to  do  with  you.  In  this  way  success 
is  not  only  won  but,  what  is  more,  royally  deserved. 

Ask  your  father  to  give  you  what  you  can  make  from  this  plat  of 
ground,  provided  you  do  not  allow  any  weeds  to  go  to  seed.  I  think 
he  will  do  it,  and  then  you  surprise  him;  I  know  you  can  do  it.  Then 
save  the  money  you  get  from  the  sale  of  this  produce  as  a  fund  with 
which  to  buy  books.  We  shall  have  some  suggestions  to  make  in  a 
later  circular  regarding  the  selection  of  books  and  how  to  use  them. 

I  have  taken  more  space  in  this  circular  than  was  intended,  but 
many  of  you  have  written  letters  which  have  an  unusual  inspiration, 
and  you  are  urged  to  write  to  this  department  at  any  time.  It  is  the 
aim  of  college  extension  work  to  be  practically  helpful  to  the  young 
people  of  Illinois.  You  are  cordially  invited  to  make  inquiries  concern- 
ing the  work  of  the  Agricultural  College,  to  the  end  that  you  may  learn 
more  as  to  what  it  is  really  doing  for  the  young  people  of  the  state. 

If  you  should  not  be  interested,  kindly  pass  this  circular  to  some 
young  person.    At  some  future  time  he  may  thank  you.    I  do  so  now. 


I40  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

For  the  sugar-beet  experimental  work  in  1902  one  boy 
made  the  following  report,  which  illustrates  the  possibilities 
of  work  of  this  character : 

My  plat  of  ground  for  the  beets  was  38  feet  wide  and  20  rods  long, 
making  45  square  rods  of  land.  There  were  26  rows  of  beets  planted 
17^  inches  apart.    The  total  expense  of  raising  them  is  as  follows : 

April  23,  plowing $  .40 

"     24,  twice  harrowing 25 

May  10,  cultivating  with  seeder 25 

"     10,  harrowing 15 

"     27,  disking 25 

"  27,  twice  planking;  planker  weighed  600  pounds  .  .  .25 
"     27,  planting,  3  hours' work  at  15  cents 45 

June  4,  hoeing  and  straightening  plants,  4  hours  at  15  cents  .60 
"     10,  raking,  3  hours  at  15  cents 45 

"     21,       "        3      "      "    15      " 45 

"     28,  hoeing  with  wheel  hoe 50 

July    7,  thinning  out,  20  hours  at  15  cent3 3.00 

"       9,  hoeing  by  hand,  12  hours  at  15  cents 1.80 

"     19,  hoeing  with  wheel  hoe,  3  hours  at  15  cc:u.;    ...       .45 

"    28,       "        "        "        "     3      "     »i5     u       ...      .45 

Aug.    9,        "         "         "         "      3       "      «  15      <c       ...       _45 

Sept.  13,  weeding,  3  hours  at  15  cents 45 

Nov.  10,  harvesting,  40  hours  at  15  cent.; 6.00 

"     10,  team  work i.tq 

Rent  of  land  at  $5.00  per  acre i.cq 

Total  cost  of  cultivating  and  harvesting     ....      Si 9.60 

The  yield  of  the  plat  was  12,500  pounds.  Deducting  1 500  pounds 
for  dirt  leaves  1 1,000  pounds  of  beets.  Number  of  tons,  5' ;  number 
of  bushels  (60  pounds  to  the  bushel),  183.  Actual  cost  of  production 
per  ton,  $3.58;  cost  per  bushel,  10  cents.  Chemical  analysis  was 
sugar  in  beets,  18  per  cent  ;  purity  coefficient  was  86.7  per  cent.  Be.ns 
were  fed  to  stock. 

Why  should  not  the  teacher  in  the  country  school 
encourage  practical  arithmetic  work  like  the  above  instead 
of  devoting  so  much  time  to  foreign  exchange  ? 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB 


141 


The  growing  of  high-bred  corn  by  the  boys  is  a  move- 
ment to  get  both  them  and  their  fathers  interested  in  im- 
proved types  of  grain.  It  is  estimated  that  if  every  farmer 
in  the  United  States  who  is  raising  corn  would  raise  one 
bushel  more  to  the  acre,  it  would  mean  for  every  acre 
planted  an  annual  increase  of  $25,000,000  to  the  wealth 
of  the  nation.  This  can  be  done  by  planting  the  improved 
varieties  of  corn  and  by  better  methods  of  cultivation.    For 


Fig.  73.    Brother  and  Si.ster  among  their  Beets 

three  years  various  members  of  our  Boys'  E.xperiment  Club 
have  been  doing  this  and  selecting  ten  of  the  best  ears  raised 
from  their  experimental  plats  for  exhibition  at  the  annual 
county  farmers'  institute,  where  prizes  are  given  boys  in 
order  of  the  excellence  of  their  exhibits.  For  1902  one 
hundred  boys  experimented  by  growing  corn,  for  1903  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  boys  grew  high-bred  corn,  for 
1904  the  number  was  one  hundred  and  forty-three,  and 
for  1905  there  were  one  hundred  and  twelve  boys. 


142 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


The  boys  also  make  observations  as  to  barren  stalks  of 
corn  in  plats  one  hundred  hills  square  and  compute  the 
percentage.  The  time  the  tassel  and  silk  appear  on  a 
stalk  is  noted.  It  is  not  expected  that  a  ten-year-old  boy 
will  be  equipped  with  a  compound  microscope  of  ten  thou- 
sand diameters  and  will  know  the  whole  mystery  of  life 
from  the  study  of  a  cross  section  of  a  grain  of  pollen, 
and  that  at  a  single  sitting.  Rather  have  him  use  his  eyes, 
—  a  little  observation   this  week,  more  next  week,  more 


Fig.  74.    This  Boy  Hopes  Soon  to  Take  a  Course  at  an 
Agricultural  College 

next  year,  until  the  habit  of  observing  is  fixed  and  there 
grows  silently  within  him  the  power  to  judge,  and  he 
becomes  educated  because  he  sees  things  with  his  eyes. 

As  with  the  sugar  beets,  so  in  the  experimental  work 
with  the  high-bred  corn :  the  Agricultural  College  Extension 
Department  lends  great  assistance  to  the  boys.  Superin- 
tendent Fred  Rankin,  in  May,  1905,  issued  a  forty-page 
illustrated  bulletin  on  "  Studies  of  Corn  and  its  Uses." 
This  most  valuable  circular  is  full  of  suggestions  for  young 
people's  clubs  and  for   instruction   in   agriculture   in   the 


A  K\RMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB         143 

country  schools.  Copies  were  mailed  to  five  hundred  boys  of 
my  club,  and  to  two  hundred  country  school-teachers,  while 
several  hundred  copies  are  in  my  office  for  distribution  to 
school  officers  and  prominent  farmers.  The  bulletin  is 
divided  as  follows  : 

Part  I.  Study  of  the  Corn  Plant. 

Part  II.  Studies  of  an  Ear  of  Corn. 

Part  III.  The  Corn  Score  Card. 

Part  IV.  Studies  of  the  Parts  of  a  Kernel  of  Corn. 

Part  V.  The  Commercial  Products  of  Corn. 

Part  VI.  Suggestions  for  Corn  Experiments. 

Part  I  is  here  given  entire  to  illustrate  the  value  and 
importance  of  this  extension  work.  Note  the  practical 
arithmetic  in  17,  18,  19,  and  20. 

Part  I.    Study  of  the  Corn  Plant 

The  development  of  the  present  breeds  of  cattle  and  other  live 
stock  plainly  shows  how  careful,  systematic,  and  intelligent  selection 
has  improved  these  animals.  Plants  respond  to  breeding  and  selec- 
tion as  readily  as  do  animals,  and  there  is  no  longer  any  doubt  that 
varieties  of  corn  may  be  further  improved  by  similar  methods. 
Experiments  conducted  by  the  Illinois  Agriculture  Experiment 
Station  and  other  similar  institutions  have  conclusively  shown  that 
the  composition  of  the  corn  kernel  may  be  varied  at  the  will  of  the 
careful  breeder,  —  that  it  is  possible  to  increase  or  decrease  the  amount 
of  oil  or  of  starch  or  of  protein  by  selection  of  seed.  An  explana- 
tion of  the  different  parts  of  the  kernel  of  corn  is  given  later. 

It  is  equally  true  that  great  variations  may  be  made  in  the  ears  or 
the  stalks  by  selection.  The  amount  of  husks,  length  of  shank,  size 
and  height  of  stalk,  position  of  ear  on  the  stalk,  the  number  of  leaves, 
and  in  fact  ever}-  physical  characteristic,  can  be  varied  in  a  short 
time  by  simple  selection.  It  is  just  as  important  to  know  the  char- 
acter of  every  part  of  the  corn  plant  as  to  know  every  characteristic  of 
the  animal.  The  size,  shape,  and  characteristic  of  the  stalk  strongly 
influence  the  development  of  the  ear  and  kernel  of  corn. 


144  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

STUDY  OF  THE  CORN  PLANT 

Name  of  variety Size  of  field 

I.  Date  the  corn  matures  :  (<?)  roasting  ear 


(<J)  dented  or  glazed (f)  ripe 

2.  Height  of  corn  :  average  of  ten  plants feet inches. 

3.  Total  number  of  leaves  on  ten  plants  taken  from  different 
hills Average  number  of  leaves  per  plant 

4.  Total  number  of  leaves  below  the  ear  on  ten  plants  taken  from 
different  hills Average 

5.  Figure  the  total  leaf  surface  on  five  average  corn  plants  (for 
each  leaf  blade  take  twice  the  product  of  the  length  and  average 
width) 

6.  Length  of  ear  stem,  or  shank  (distance  from  joint,  or  node,  to 
base  of  ear) Average  of  ten  plants 

7.  The  ear  stem,  or  shank,  may  be  {a)  large,  or  nearly  or  qaite  tlie 
diameter  of  the  cob ;  {b)  medium,  or  about  half  the  diameter  of  the 
cob ;  {c)  small,  or  one  third  or  less  the  diameter  of  the  cob. 

8.  Husks  (abundant,  medium,  scarce) 

9.  Husks  (close,  medium,  loose) 

10.  Measure  ten  hills  square  ;  give  number  of  ears  on  these  one 
hundred  hills Average  per  hill 

11.  Give  number  of  stalks  in  the  above  area  having  two  or  more 
ears 

12.  Give  number  of  stalks  in  above  area  without  ears  (barren 
stalks) 

13.  Give  average  height  of  ears  in  above  area 

14.  Position  of  the  ears  on  stalks  (pointing  upward,  horizontal, 
pointing  downward) 

15.  Distance  apart  of  hills  each  way 

16.  Give  number  of  hills  per  acre 

1 7-  Measure  off  one  acre  which  represents  a  good  average  of  tlie 
field  ;  husk  one  twentieth  of  this  and  after  weighing  same  carefully 
estimate  the  average  yield  of  field 

18.  If  hills  of  corn  are  3  feet  6  inches  each  way,  how  many  hills 
to  the  acre? 


A  FARMER  BOVS'   EXPERLMENT  CLUB  145 

19.  If  in  a  field  of  corn  planted  3  feet  6  inches  each  way  there  is 
on  the  average  i'  pounds  of  corn  to. each  hill,  counting  80  pounds  to 
the  bushel  to  allow  for  shrinkage,  what  is  the  yield  per  acre  ? 

20.  If  corn  is  planted  3  feet  6  inches  each  way,  and  when  mature 
is  cut  and  put  into  shocks,  each  shock  containing  the  corn  from  an 

area  fourteen  hills  square,  how*  manj-  shocks  to  the  acre? 

How  many  shocks  are  sixteen  hills  square? 

The  following  table  will  assist  in  making  an  accurate  estimate  of 
the  amount  of  land  in  different  fields  or  plots : 

ID  rods    X     16  rods    =  i  acre  I    220  feet  x  198     feet  =  i  acre 

8  rods    X     20  rods    =  i  acre  440  feet  x    99     feet  =  i  acre 

5  rods    X     32  rods    =  i  acre  no  feet  X  396     feet  =  i  acre 

4  rods    X    40  rods    =  i  acre  j      60  feet  x  726     feet  =  i  acre 

5  yards  X  968  yards  =  i  acre  i  120  feet  X  363  feet  =  i  acre 
10  yards  x  484  yards  =  i  acre  240  feet  x  181.5  feet  =  i  acre 
20  yards  X  242  yards  =  i  acre  200  feet  x  1S0.9  feet  =  I  acre 
40  yards  x  121  yards  =  i  acre  100  feet  x  145.2  feet  —  |  acre 
80  yards  X    60.5  yards  =  i  acre  1    100  feet  x  108.9  ^^^^  =  ?  '^cre 

Some  teachers  allow  or  require  their  pupils  to  commit 
passages  about  tropical  fruits,  and  perhaps  make  a  perfect 
(so-called)  recitation  about  the  banana  or  the  cocoanut. 
But  to  investigate  and  study  a  plant  growing  just  outside 
the  school  yard,  —  "why,  that  is  not  education."  Yet 
there  are  more  country  children  who  will  make  their  living 
by  growing  corn  than  by  growing  tropical  fruits.  Not  less 
knowledge,  perhaps,  of  things  far  away,- but  more  study  of 
things  in  the  environment  of  the  country  child  is  neces- 
sary. Corn  is  almost  a  common  cereal  for  the  United 
States.  Last  week  I  received  a  letter  from  a  gentleman 
in  North  Carolina  who  wished  me  to  send  him  all  the  liter- 
ature I  could  about  corn,  as  the  people  of  his  county  wished 
to  begin  corn  growing  and  the  farmers'  institute  movement. 
The  same  variety  of  corn  will  not  do  equally  well  in  every 


146  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

part  of  the  United  States.  Find  out  from  your  own  Experi- 
ment Station  what  variety  is  suitable;  get  an  ear  or  two,  and 
begin  some  experimental  work  with  your  pupils.  It  will 
vitalize  your  language  and  composition  work,  your  arith- 
metic, your  drawing,  your  nature  study,  and  will  surely 
quicken  the  educational  interest  of  the  patrons  of  your 
district.  It  will  require  courage  and  some  study  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher  to  do  this,  for  it  is  so  much  easier  to 
go  on  asking  questions  from  a  book. 

When  the  boys  of  our  club  receive  their  corn  to  plant, 
the  Illinois  score  card  (see  p.  190)  is  sent  along,  so  that  the 
boys  may  know  how  best  to  select  ten  ears  for  the  exhibit. 

Measurements  for  Standard  Varieties 

There  are  many  standard  varieties,  or  breeds,  of  corn  in 
which  we  recognize  distinct  variety  characteristics,  just  as 
we  do  in  the  case  of  the  Shorthorn,  Hereford,  or  Angus 
breeds  of  cattle. 

When  as  a  boy  I  plowed  corn  in  central  Illinois  I  thought 
of  corn  as  something  to  be  fed  to  hogs,  and  I  also  knew  that 
whisky  was  made  from  it.  The  boys  of  the  Winnebago 
County  Experiment  Club  are  learning  what  can  be  made 
from  corn  besides  pork  and  whisky.  Speaking  of  the 
commercial  products  of  corn,  in  Superintendent  Rankin's 
interesting  bulletin,  Mr.  Roy  B.  Simpson  of  the  Glucose 
Sugar  Refining  Company,  Chicago,  says : 

Until  recently  corn  has  been  considered  only  as  of  value  for  the 
making  of  corn  bread  and  cakes,  beef,  pork,  and  whisky.  However, 
when  man  comes  to  study  this  marvelous  plant  in  a  scientific  way, 
science  evolves  other  products  in  rapid  succession.  From  it  now 
come  the  finest  qualities  of  oils  for  table  purposes,  for  the  mixing  of 
paints,  for  lubricating  purposes,   for  manufacturing  soaps,   and  the 


Fig.  75.    Some  Iligh-Bied  Corn  1 


■B 

^^^^^^^H    jflHE^      «^       '^'^       '"^^ 

A'^^^i'-^'  :^ 

JJ^PLm  m  m' '  K 

■tefe-- ".Sfc^^-   ■  '  - 

Fig.  76.   Bottles  showing  Chemical  Analysis  of  Corn  1 

The  first  bottle  at  the  left  represents  100  ounces  of  shelled  corn.  The  five  bottles 
at  the  right  represent  the  chemical  composition  of  this  corn  as  determined  by 
analyses.  The  elements  are  as  follows.:  carbohydrates,  80.35  ounces;  protein, 
10.92  ounces  ;  oil,  4.70  ounces  ;  crude  fiber,  2.60  ounces;  ash,  1.43  ounces 

1  By  courtesy  of  the  Illinois  E.xperiment  Station,  Urbana. 
147 


148  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

like.  It  yields  gum,  sugar,  and  sirup  which  cannot  be  surpassed. 
From  it  is  obtained  vulcanized  corn  oil,  or  corn  rubber,  which  is  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  rubber  goods  and  linoleums  ;  and  from  the  stalk 
are  made  the  finest  grades  of  paper.  The  pith  of  the  stalk  is  converted 
into  cellulose,  which  is  used  to  protect  war  ships  from  shot  and  shell. 

For  the  last  three  years  the  boys  of  the  Experiment 
Club  have  had  a  half-day  session  at  the  Winnebago  County 
Annual  Farmers'  Institute. 

The  boys  are  encouraged  to. keep  memoranda  of  their 
corn  growing  and  to  write  letters  about  their  experimental 
work.  These  letters  are  sent  to  the  County  Superintendent 
of  Schools  and  are  published  in  his  annual  report  and  sent 
into  every  country  home.  The  teacher  in  the  regular  work 
of  the  school  can  make  the  experimental  work  a  basis  for 
letter  writing  and  thus  be  of  great  assistance  to  the  boys  in 
improving  their  power  of  expression.  There  is  abundant 
room  for  improvement  in  the  mechanics  of  letter  writing, 
such  as  the  use  of  capitals,  punctuation,  and  paragraphing  ; 
but  if  the  boy  has  something  to  write  and  is  not  merely 
required  to  write  something,  there  is  more  likelihood  of  his 
taking  greater  interest  in  what  he  generally  considers  a 
nuisance.  The  trouble  with  so  much  of  our  school  work  is 
that  the  teacher  is  content  with  the  pupil's  recitation  of 
rules  from  memory,  without  his  actually  doing  the  thing 
talked  about.  If  the  pupil  does  give  to  the  teacher  some 
written  work,  too  often  he  is  not  shown  his  mistakes  and 
required  to  correct  them  by  rewriting  the  exercise.  The 
complaint  is  made  that  our  pupils  do  too  much  written  work. 
There  is  truth  in  this.    We  need  to  do  less  and  do  it  better. 

Following  are  three  letters  from  boys  about  their  prize 
high-bred  corn  (1904).  These  are  fair  specimens  of  many 
that  were  received. 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB  149 

I 

I  am  sending  you  a  record  of  the  corn  I  raised  for  the  institute. 

Plowed  the  ground  seven  inches  deep  one  week  before  planting. 
Dragged  twice  the  same  d.iy  the  corn  was  planted.  The  ground  had 
had  no  fertilizer  for  two  3ears.    The  previous  crop  was  sweet  corn. 

Planted  t'.ie  corn  two  inches  and  a  half  deep,  in  rows  three  feet 
and  eight  inches  apart,  the  hills  the  same  distance  apart  in  the  row. 
It  was  planted  on  May  17  and  came  up  on  the  21st,  with  no  cultiva- 
tion before  it  came  up.  Cultivated  three  times  an_l  hoed  twice,  the 
l.ist  time  on  the  2d  of  July.  The  corn  tasseled  out  on  the  6th  of  July 
and  silked  on  the  20th.  On  the  13th  of  September  I  gathered  it  and 
hung  it  in  the  corn  crib  to  cure  for  about  a  month.  I  then  took  it 
down  and  put  it  up  by  the  stovepipe  to  dry  for  a  while,  then  picked 
out  the  best  ears  and  rolleil  them  in  paper,  packed  them  in  a  box 
.so  that  they  would  not  get  shelled  or  damaged,  and  then  picked  out 
ten  ears  for  the  institute. 

II 

My  experimental  crop  consisted  of  Leaming  corn.  First  I  plowed 
the  ground  and  then  I  rolled  all  the  lumps  off,  so  it  left  it  in  good 
condition  for  planting.  I  took  a  hoe  and  dug  the  holes,  so  that  I 
could  put  the  corn  in  moist  dirt.  I  put  three  grains  in  a  hill  and  made 
the  hills  three  feet  eight  inches  apart.  I  planted  five  hundred  grains. 
Twenty  failed  to  grow.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  smut  and  suckers 
on  my  corn.     I  cut  the  smut  and  suckers  off. 

This  is  the  work  I  did  on  my  corn  : 

Hauling  one  load  of  manure |  hour  S  .15 

May  10,  1904,  plowing,  6  inches  deep      ....     4^  hour  .15 

"       ID,             dragging +  hour  .15 

"       16,             planting  corn ^  hour  .15 

"      29,            cultivation 40  minutes  .20 

"      31,            hoeing 40  minutes  .20 

June  r6,            plowing 40  minutes  .25 

July  20.             hoeing 2^  minutes  .10 

Total i>i-35 

My  corn  is  worth  S3. 75,  and  the  profit  is  $2.40. 


150 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


III 


...  In  conclusion  I  have  added  the  most  important  things  I 
learned,  experimental  and  otherwise. 

The  first  thing  that  took  my  notice  was  that  there  were  no  losses 
from  insects  or  cutworms.  Having  heard  that  smut  germs  floated  in 
the  air  and  grew  whenever  they  struck  a  bruise  on  a  stalk,  I  deter- 
mined to  find  out  for  myself.  So  I  punctured  three  stalks,  and  in 
less  than  three  days  I  was  surprised  to  find  smut  growing  there.  I 
cut  it  off  and  it  ceased  to  grow.  Then  when  the  corn  began  to  silk 
I  wondered  how  to  prevent  so  many  poor  ears  of  corn  from  growing. 
At  last  the  thought  came  to  me  that  I  would  cut  off  the  silks,  which 
I  did,  and  found  a  week  later  that  the  ears  were  all  shriveled  up,  and 
still  later  were  dead.  Thus  I  found  another  way  to  prevent  ears  from 
fertilizing.  In  doing  so  I  prevented  the  growth  of  many  poor  ears 
and  helped  the  stronger  ones. 

Therefore,  by  raising  corn  on  the  scalegiven  by  Mr.  Hostetter,  I  have 
learned  enough  extra  to  more  than  pay  for  all  the  trouble  it  gave  me. 

The  organization  of  boys'  clubs  has  spread  to  many 
locahties  in  Iowa,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Ohio,  and 
Texas.  Doubtless  other  states  have  inaugurated  this  move- 
ment, but  the  data  are  not  at  hand  to  specify  by  name.  In 
Ohio  the  boys'  agricultural  club  movement  started  with 
Superintendent  A.  B.  Graham  of  Springfield  township, 
Clarke  County.  So  successful  was  Superintendent  Graham 
in  this  work  that  he  has  been  elected  to  take  charge  of  the 
extension  work  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  of  the  state 
university  at  Columbus.  In  collaboration  with  members  of 
the  faculty  he  is  issuing  some  excellent  bulletins  that  are 
calculated  to  exert  a  great  influence.  The  latest  of  these, 
issued  March,  1906,  on  "  The  Centralized  Schools  of  Ohio," 
ought  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  every  patron  of  country 
schools.  Some  of  the  photographs  used  in  that  bulletin  are 
used  in  Chapter  XII. 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB 


151 


Superintendent  Cap  E.  Miller  of  Sigourney,  Iowa,  has 
attracted  national  attention  by  his  work  for  the  country 
schools.  His  annual  report  for  1903-1904  shows  that  he 
is  a  man  who  brings  things  to  pass.  There  is  an  account 
of  a  county  spelling  contest,  a  county  educational  rally, 
township  historical  contests,  agricultural  conventions  for 
boys  and  girls,  and  an  educational  excursion  to  the  Iowa 
State  College  of  Agriculture,  June  3,  1904,  which  was 
attended  by  nearly  fifteen  hundred  persons.  A  school  fair 
and  a  farmers'  insti- 
tute were  organized. 
By  combining  his 
annual  teachers'  in- 
stitute with  the  local 
Chautauqua  Assem- 
bly his  teachers  were 
enabled  to  hear  some 
of  the  best  speakers 
on  the  lecture  plat- 
form . 

Miss  Anna  Lois 
Barbre,  County  Super- 
intendent of  Chris- 
tian County,  Illinois,  has  a  large  and  enthusiastic  boys'  club. 
Two  excunsions  have  been  made  to  the  College  of  Agricul- 
ture at  the  University  of  Illinois.  She  is  planning  for  five 
hundred  boys  to  take  part  in  the  corn-growing  contest 
of  1906. 

Other  counties  in  Illinois  having  boys'  clubs,  so  far  as  I 
have  been  able  to  get  information,  are  Johnson,  La  Salle, 
Marion,  McHenry,  Piatt,  and  Mason. 

1  By  courtesy  of  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station,  Urbana. 


Fig.  77.  Testing  the  Germination  of  Corn  with 
Plates  of  Sand.i  (For  cross  section  of  a 
kernel,  see  Fig.  98) 


152 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


In  Illinois  the  latest  development  of  the  boys'  work  is 
the  offering  of  free  scholarships  for  the  two  weeks'  short 
course  at  the  College  of  Agriculture  to  the  boys  making  the 
highest  scores  in  judging  corn  at  the  local  farmers'  insti- 
tutes in  the  various  counties.  This  movement  was  started 
by  Director  A.  P.  Grout  of  Scott  County.     Last  February 


Fig.  78.    Some  Prize  Winners  of  the  Winnebago  County  Girls' 
Home  Culture  Club 


his  congressional  district  sent  twenty-six  boys  to  the  corn 
school  at  the  College  of  Agriculture  at  Urbana.  In  all, 
seventy-five  boys  were  sent  from  twenty-nine  counties, 
with  all  expenses  paid  for  the  two  weeks.  The  attendance 
at  the  corn  school  of  1907  bids  fair  to  show  a  great  increase 
in  attendance  on  the  part  of  boys.  Winnebago  County  is 
planning  to  send  a  dozen  or  more. 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB    153 

To  Nebraska  belongs  the  honor  of  doing  a  big  thing  and 
doing  it  in  a  most  successful  way.  J.  I..  McBrien,  State 
Superintendtnt  of  Public  Instruction,  gave  to  his  deputy, 
Mr.  Bishop,  permission  to  inaugurate  a  boys'  corn-growing 
and  a  girls'  cooking  contest  that  would  take  in  the  entire 
state,  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  be  given  in  prizes 
to  the  successful  boys  and  girls.  The  work  was  systematic- 
ally planned,  and  literature  on  the  subject  was  scattered 
broadcast  over  the  state.  The  contest  closed  at  the  state 
capital,  Lincoln,  in  December,  1905,  with  a  great  meeting 
and  a  banquet.  There  were  six  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
boys  and  girls  present  from  all  over  the  state.  The  banquet 
was  under  the  direction  of  a  French  chef  and  consisted  of 
seven  courses  that  exemplified  the  wonderful  food  qualities 
of  Nebraska  corn. 

MENU 

Corn  Soup  Pop-Corn  Float 

Corn  Relish 

Hot  Corn  Tamales 

Hulled  Corn  with  State-Farm  Cream 

State-Farm  Corn-Fed  Beef  a  la  Challenger 

Nebraska  \Yhite  Prize  Hot  Corn  Bread  with  State-Farm 

Student  Butter 

Aunt  Chloe's  Corn  Pone 

Granulated  Hominy  Grits  Croquettes  en  Surprise. 

Reid's  Yellow  Dent  Johnny  Cake  with  Milk 

Baked  Indian  Com  Pudding 

Cream  of  Corn  Sauce  Molded  Corn  Ice  Cream 

Corn  Meal  Wafers  Golden  Com  Cake 

Corn  Coffee 

"  Corn  toasts  "  were  responded  to  by  prominent  men 
of  the  state  and  nation. 

A  good  beginning  has  thus  been  made,  and  the  purpose 
is  to  continue  along  more  comprehensive  lines.    Local  clubs 


154  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

will  be  organized  with  a  constitution,  and  county  organiza- 
tions will  be  encouraged.  Plans  for  1 906  are  well  under  way 
and  include  the  following  departments  : 

For  Boys 

1 .  Corn  growing. 

2.  Wheat  growing. 

3.  Sugar-beet  growing. 

4.  Potato  growing. 

5.  Manual  training,  —  making  of  articles,  useful  or  ornamental, 
for  the  home. 

For  Girls 

1.  Cooking  of  corn  products. 

2.  Cooking  of  white  and  brown  bread. 

3.  Preserving  of  fruits  and  vegetables. 

4.  Needlework,  including  plain  sewing,  embroidery,  crocheting, 
and  fancy  work. 

5.  House  ornaments. 

6.  Sugar-beet  growing.  • 

7.  Potato  growing. 

Mr.  Dick  Crosby  of  the  Experiment  Station,  Department 
of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C.,  has  made  a  careful  study 
of  the  boys'  agricultural  club  movements.  The  results  of 
his  studies  and  investigations  have  been  issued  in  bulletin 
form.    The  bulletin  closes  with  the  following  summary  : 

Collectively  the  boys  have  learned  the  value  of  organized  effort,  of 
cooperation,  and  of  compromise,  and  the  social  instinct  has  been 
developed  in  them, — -a  matter  of  great  importance  in  rural  districts, 
where  the  isolated  condition  of  the  people  has  always  been  a  great 
drawback  to  progress. 

The  influence  upon  the  communities  at  large,  the  parents  as  well 
as  the  children,  has  been  wholesome.  Beginning  with  an  awakening 
of  interest  in  one  thing,  better  seed  corn,  the  communities  have  rapidly 
extended  their  interest  to  other  features  of  rural  improvement,  with 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB    155 

the  result  that  in  the  regions  affected  by  the  boys'  agricultural  club 
movement  there  has  come  about  a  general  upward  trend  to  the  thoughts 
and  activities  of  the  people. 

Superintendent  G.  F.  Snyder  of  Baraboo,  Wisconsin,  has 
recently  issued  his  yearbook  for  1905  on  the  Sauk  County 
schools,  which  gives  interesting  details  of  his  work.  It 
contains  also  many  excellent  illustrations  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful scenes  in  the  Wisconsin  lake  region.  Superintendent 
Snyder  has  been  active  in  organizing  boys'  and  girls'  clubs 
and  in  awakening  a  general  interest  in  agriculture.  He  con- 
ducted an  educational  excursion  of  fifteen  hundred  persons 
from  his  county  to  the  Wisconsin  College  of  Agriculture, 
June  10,  1905. 

Many  schools  in  his  county  have  had  school  gardens  with 
good  results,  and  farmers'  meetings  have  been  held,  at  which 
school  men  and  instructors  from  the  College  of  Agriculture 
have  talked  on  questions  of  vital  interest  to  the  country 
school  and  farm.  Superintendent  Snyder  was  instrumen- 
tal in  securing  a  county  training  school  for  his  county,  and 
will  soon  give  up  the  duties  of  his  office  to  enter  upon  the 
management  of  this  training  school  for  country  teachers. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  the  work  of  County  Super- 
intendent H.  T.  Ports  of  Marengo,  Iowa,  as  given  by  a 
Des  Moines  paper  : 

On  April  8,  1904,  at  a  county  historical  essay  contest  of  the  school 
children,  the  boys  and  girls  were  called  together  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  two  clubs,  with  the  result  that  there  were  twenty-two  charter 
members  to  the  boys'  club  and  twenty-four  charter  members  to  the 
girls'  club.  From  this  small  beginning  they  have  increased  in  num- 
bers, until  now  they  each  have  a  membership  of  about  three  hundred. 

The  boys  have  been  experimenting  largely  with  farm  industries, 
and  the  girls  have  been  centering  their  efforts  in  the  art  of  making 
the  home  beautiful  and  comfortable.    Outlines  for  observation,  study, 


156  AMONG  COTJ^NTRY  SCHOOLS 

and  work  have  been  furnished  the  club  members  from  time  to  time 
by  their  superintendent,  which  have  been  the  basis  of  all  their  opera- 
tions. Plant  life  and  animal  life  in  all  their  phases  have  been  the 
principal  sources  of  study  and  observation.  The  girls  have  experi- 
mented in  the  growing  of  flowers  and  all  kinds  of  garden  products, 
while  the  boys  have  experimented  in  all  kinds  of  field  crops,  as  well 
as  garden  products,  and  have  carefully  studied  all  the  domestic  ani- 
mals, and  a  great  many  things  equally  interesting  and  important  to 
boys  and  girls  alike  have  been  studied  in  common.  The  girls  have 
also  followed  a  course  of  outlines  on  hygiene  and  health  of  the  home, 
and  have  done  much  in  the  domestic-science  department.  They  are 
taugiit  to  cook,  sew,  and  care  for  the  various  departments  of  the  home, 
from  the  most  trivial  to  the  most  important.  Boys  have  been  encour- 
aged in  the  use  of  all  kinds  of  tools  in  the  manufacture  of  articles 
and  implements  useful  to  the  home  and  farm.  Combined  with  the 
industrial  work  is  the  literary  work.  Language  and  mathematics  are 
emphasized,  and  essay,  declamatory,  spelling,  and  otlier  literary 
contests  are  always  held  in  connection  with  the  industrial  contests. 
Excursions  and  picnics  are  frequently  had  for  the  purpose  of  encour- 
aging the  boys  and  girls,  and  to  emphasize  the  different  parts  of  the 
work.  Two  excursions  have  been  made  to  the  State  Agricultural 
College  at  Ames.  On  the  first  about  seven  hundred  went  and  on 
the  second  about  twelve  hundred.  Township  and  county  meetings 
have  been  held  frequently,  where  boys  and  girls  are  allowed  to  take 
part,  and  where  special  instructions  are  given  by  men  and  women  of 
superior  qualifications. 

County  Superintendent  John  F.  Haine.s  of  Hamilton 
County,  Indiana,  has  organized  a  Boys'  Corn  Club  of  nearly 
three  hundred  members,  and  for  two  years  the  boys  have 
been  growing  corn  for  the  annual  corn  contest.  Each  boy 
was  given  twelve  hundred  grains  of  a  good  variety  to  plant 
in  experimental  plots  of  ground.  Specific  instructions  were 
given  with  reference  to  cultivation,  ob.servation,  etc. 

In  August,  1905,  Superintendent  Haines  conducted  an 
educational  excursion  from  his  county  to  the  Indiana  State 


A  FARMER  BOYS'  EXPERIMENT  CLUB  157 

Agricultural  College  at  Lafayette.  More  than  three  hun- 
dred boys  and  their  parents  went  on  this  excursion,  and  all 
expressed  themselves  delighted  with  the  trip.  Mr.  Haines 
conducted  a  scoring  contest  at  the  la.st  annual  meeting  of 
the  boys.    He  sa}s  : 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  one  hundred  boys  could  be  selected  in  Ham- 
ilton County  whose  knowledge  of  corn  is  superior  to  that  of  any  one 
hundred  men  that  could  be  selected  in  the  county. 

County  Superintendent  Bunnell  of  Laporte  County,  In- 
diana, has  issued  rules  and  regulations  for  a  mammoth 
corn  contest  in  his  county  for  the  year  1906.  The  first 
prize  is  one  hundred  dollars,  the  second  seventy-five  dollars, 
the  third  fifty  dollars,  etc.  The  boys  must  make  a  special 
study  of  the  corn  plant,  must  plant  one  acre, — no  more 
and  no  less,  —  and  each  boy  must  attend  the  local  farmers' 
institutes  for  two  years  unless  prevented  by  sickness.  Each 
contestant  must  take  a  bushel  of  his  best  corn  to  the 
institute  for  1906,  and  from  this  bushel  select  the  ears  for 
the  final  contest.  The  boy  making  the  highest  number  of 
points,  not  counting  cash  premiums,  in  each  township  will 
have  all  his  expenses  paid  for  a  week  to  attend  the  corn  and 
stock  judging  school  at  the  State  College  of  Agriculture. 

As  has  been  said  before  in  this  chapter,  the  work  with 
boys  needs  to  be  followed  up  for  several  years.  It  takes 
about  a  generation  to  effect  real  pernlaiieht  results  in  this 
line.  The  past  has  too  often  witnessed  a  movement  of  this 
kind  flourish  vigorously  for  two  or  three  years  and  then  die 
because  the  promoters  were  so  busy  keeping  their  halos  in 
proper  condition  for  public  inspection  that  there  was  not 
time  for  the  next  forward  step  that  must  always  be  taken. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS  TO  THE  COLLEGE 
OF  AGRICULTURE 

In  my  work  as  County  Superintendent  of  Schools,  in 
attempting  a  solution  of  the  country-school  problem  it  has 
seemed  that  the  educational  excursion  to  the  State  College 
of  Agriculture  and  Experiment  Station  is  a  very  important 


Fig.  7y.    Tht;  Excursion  of  Winiiebagoes  (1903)  in  Front  of  the 
College  of  Agriculture,  University  of  Illinois 

factor  in  creating  a  new  educational  ideal  among  the  farm- 
ers with  reference  to  the  training  of  their  children.  The 
excursion  is  supplementary  to  the  printing  press  and  the 
farmers'  institute  movement  in  putting  the  people,  espe- 
cially the  boys  and  girls,  of  the  country  districts  in  touch 
with  higher  institutions  of  learning,  and  at  the  same  time 
enlarging  their  views  of  life  by  a  railroad  trip.  One  of  the 
hardest  of  tasks  is  to  create  a  sentiment  for  better  things 
in  the  average  district  school.  The  average  farmer  is 
quick  to  recognize  the  value  of  improved  farm  machinery, 

158 


EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS  159 

electric  roads,  and  telephones  ;  but  when  one  begins  to  talk 
to  him  about  corresponding  improvement  in  the  country 
school,  its  material  equipment,  surroundings,  improved 
course  of  study,  and  better  teachers  with  better  salaries, 
at  once  he  stops  you  with  :  "  Why,  when  I  was  a  boy  I 
Avent  to  an  old  log  house,  sat  on  a  long  bench,  and  studied 
a  spelling  book.  Now  look  at  me  and  my  farm.  I  have 
made  a  success  of  life."  I  don't  pretend  to  say  that  we 
have  found  in  Winnebago  County  the  only  way  to  create 
this  new  ideal.  Hard  work,  infinite  patience,  steadfast  per- 
sistency, and  tact  are  some  of  the  elements  that  must  obtain 


Fig.  80.    The  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture 

if  efforts  to  create  a  spirit  for  better  things  in  the  country 
school,  or  any  movement  looking  towards  the  spiritualization 
of  country  life  and  thought,  shall  be  crowned  with  success. 
Not  all  the  education  of  the  country  child  is  acquired 
in  the  country  school.  It  has  been  said  that  the  farm  edu- 
cates the  child  as  much  as  the  district  school.  The  time  is 
at  hand  when  we  must  teach  more  practical  things  in  the 
district  schools.  The  child  should  visit  places  and  see 
things  for  himself.  Children  see  things  along  the  country 
road  to  school,  but  they  are  not.  taught  to  think  about 
these  things  ;  we  allow  them  to  spend  too  much  time  in 
reading  about  things.    The  polar  bear  gets  more  of   the 


l6o       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

child's  attention  in  books  than  does  the  study  of  a  noxious 
weed  on  the  farm,  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  he  is  more 
interested  in  the  one  than  in  the  other.  The  reason  for  this 
preference  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  weed  is  a  thoroughly 
familiar  object,  and  it  is  an  unalterable  law  of  psychology 
that  we  do  not  attend  to  that  which  is  wholly  familiar. 
What  is  needed  is  that  the  significance  of  that  noxious 
weed  should  be  pointed  out,  and  its  relation  to  the  life  of 
the  boy  and  to  his  prosperity  as  a  farmer  indicated.  Then 
he  will  attend  because  there  is  something  attractive  about 
the  object.  The  average  country  child  will  hardly  be  called 
upon  to  study  arctic  animals  in  their  native  environment,  but 
there  are  many  things  worth  knowing  in  an  excursion  of  an 
hour  or  so  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  district  schoolhouse. 
The  educational  excursion  was  planned  by  me  shortly 
after  my  organization  of  the  Winnebago  County  Farmer 
Boys'  Experiment  Club  (see  preceding  chapter)  in  1902. 
The  following  has  been  the  result : 

First  Excursion :  June,  1902;  to  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture 
and  Experiment  Station  at  Urbana ;  persons  going,  130  boys  and 
girls  and  150  adults  (total,  280);  fare,  $2.50  round  trip;  time,  two 
days  ;  distance,  214  miles. 

Second  Excursion :  June,  1903  ;  to  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture 
and  Experiment  Station  at  Urbana;  persons  going,  112  boys  and 
girls  and  93  adults  (total,  205)  ;  fare,  time,  and  distance  the  same 
as  on  first  excursion. 

Third  Excursion :  June,  1904  ;  to  Iowa  State  College  of  Agricul- 
ture and  Experiment  Station  at  Ames ;  persons  going,  90  boys  and 
girls  and  11 1  adults  (total,  201)  ;  fare,  $4.00  round  trip;  time,  two 
days;  distance,  318  miles. 

Fourth  Excursion:  June,  1905;  to  Wisconsin  State  College  of 
Agriculture  and  Experiment  Station  at  Madison  ;  persons  going, 
156  boys  and  girls  and  170  adults  (total,  326);  fare,  $1.25  round 
trip  ;  time,  two  days  ;  distance,  65  miles. 


EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS  l6l 

The  grand  total  for  four  years  was  488  boys  and  girls  and  524 
adults,  or  a  complete  total  of  1012  persons;  and  each  excursion  was 
practically  a  new  party.  In  the  second  excursion  there  were  only 
thirteen  persons  who  went  on  the  first.  Twenty-two  school-teachers 
were  among  the  number  who  went  on  the  last  excursion. 

It  has  not  been  my  effort  to  secure  large  crowds.  The 
brass  band  and  hurrah  features  have  been  entirely  elimi- 
nated. The  excursions  have  been  strictly  educational,  and 
persons  going  were  those  most  interested,  —  those  who 
had  eyes  to  see  and  brains  to  think,  and  used  both.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  each  returning  party  has  been  an  educa- 
tional missionary  force  in  behalf  of  better  education  for  the 


Fig.  81.    The  Cattle  Barn,  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture 

farmer.  Estimating  that  each  of  the  one  thousand  and 
twelve  persons  interested  at  least  two  friends  on  his  return 
with  an  account  of  what  Jie  saw,  then  a  total  of  three  thou- 
sand persons  were  reached  in  a  most  effective  manner.  As 
the  four  annual  excursions  were  ably  and  fully  treated  by 
the  local  press,  as  well  as  by  illustrated  printed  matter 
sent  by  the  county  superintendent  into  every  school  in  the 
county,  it  is  a  conservative  estimate  to  claim  that  ten  thou- 
sand other  persons  had  their  attention  called  in  a  very  prac- 
tical way  to  the  work  of  one  of  the  most  important  of  our  state 
institutions,  namely,  the  work  of  the  College  of  Agriculture 
and  Experiment  Station.    Good  results  will  come  in  time  in 


l62       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

a  general  educational  uplift  in  the  interests  of  the  country 
schools  of  our  county.  If  I  hear  of  no  other  return,  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  has  amply  repaid  all  my 
efforts  to  inspire  the  boys  and  girls  with  higher  ideals: 

...  It  is  through  the  excursion  to  the  University  of  Illinois  that  I 
am  most  indebted  to  you,  as  that  kindled  my  desire  for  an  agricultural 
education.  As  I  could  not  afford  a  four  years'  course,  I  went  to 
Madison  the  following  fall  (1902)  and  commenced  the  short  course 
at  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  and  secured  a  position  at  the  Experi- 
ment Station  of  that  place  during  the  summer  of  1903,  and  last  winter 
completed  the  course. 

The  writer  of  this  letter,  by  working  with  his  hands,  ob- 
tained an  education  and  secured  an  honorable  position. 

With  these  educational  excursions  the  cost  of  success  is 
plenty  of  hard  work  and  earnest  thought.  An  illustrated 
chapter  about  the  excursion  is  printed  in  my  annual  report 
and  sent  into  every  country  home  in  the  county.  The 
Pantagraph,  Bloomington,  Illinois,  —  a  newspaper  earnestly 
advocating  improvement  on  the  farm  and  in  the  country 
school,  —  very  kindly  spoke  as  follows  of  the  McHenry  and 
Winnebago  County  educational  excursions  : 

They  make  careful  plans  and  good  ones  and  start  them  in  opera- 
tion, but  do  not  stop  with  any  mere  theory  or  formal  procedure,  how- 
ever perfect  or  unique,  but  get  out  in  the  field,  see  how  their  plans 
are  working,  and  work  them,  revising  where  necessary,  meeting  any 
deficiency,  putting  the  whole  weight  of  their  personality  and  influence 
into  the  project,  meeting  doubts,  overcoming  objections,  securing 
personal  pledges,  absolutely  doing  things,  —  and  then  people  wonder 
why  they  succeed. 

Their  spirit  and  methods  should  be  studied,  emulated,  and  adapted 
to  local  conditions  by  other  would-be-successful  workers  in  similar 
fields.  The  price  of  success  seems  to  be  devotion,  work  (plenty  of  it), 
and  the  ingenuity  of  plan  that  comes  from  great  earnestness  and 
continued  brooding  over  things  desired  to  be  accomplished. 


EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS  163 

A  detailed  account  of  each  of  our  four  annual  excursions 
cannot  here  be  given.  To  Professor  R.  A.  Moore  and  his 
associates  of  the  Wisconsin  College  of  Agriculture  great 
credit  must  be  given  for  a  most  perfect  programme  of 
visitation,  which  was  carried  out  to  the  letter.  A  type- 
written copy  of  the  programme  for  the  two  days'  visit 
was  given  each  member  of  our  party  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty-six.  This  is  reproduced  here,  so  that  the  reader 
may  know  what  the  Winnebagoes  are  doing  and  seeing  on 
these  educational  excursions. 

Annual  Excursion  of  Boys'  Experiment  Club  and  Girls' 
Home  Culture  Club  of  Winnebago  County,  Illinois, 
TO  Madison,  Wisconsin,  Friday  and  Saturday,  June  2-3, 

1905 

A  Visit  to  thf.  University  of  Wisconsin 

Ffiday,  June  2 

12.30  P.M. :  Arrive  at  Madison  via  C.  &  N.  W.  Ry.  Take  street  cars 
in  waiting  at  the  depot  and  go  direct  to  Agricultural  Hall  and  have 
photo  taken  in  group. 

i-i  .20  P.M. :  Address  in  auditorium,  Agricultural  Hall,  by  Dean  W.  A. 
Henry. 

1.20-2  P.M.  :  Tour  of  inspection  through  Agricultural  Hall.  The 
various  laboratories,  lecture  rooms,  and  library  will  be  visited. 

2-2.45  v.'M.:  Dairy  building,  —  creamery,  cheese  room,  Pasteurizing 
laboratory,  separating  rooms,  dairy  machinery,  etc. 

2.45-3.30:  Horticulture,  —  physics  building,  greenhouses,  laborato- 
ries, apparatus,  etc.    A  visit  to  the  orchard  and  nursery. 

3.30-4  P.M. :  Experimental  plots,  —  one  hundred  varieties  of  grain  and 
forage  plants  on  experiment. 

4-5.30  P.M.  :  Live-stock  buildings,  —  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine 
on  exhibition.  An  exhibit  of  farm  machinery  in  sheep-judging 
building.  Instructors  will  be  in  their  respective  departments  to 
answer  questions  and  give  all  the  useful  information  possible. 

5.30  P.M. :  Take  a  street  car  for  down  town  from  University  Farm. 
Meals  at  Central  Hotel  and  Fess  House.    Rooms  in  the  vicinity 


1 64       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

of  the  university,  with  private  families  to  accommodate  two  hun- 
dred. Those  desiring  to  get  rooms  near  the  university  will  take 
meals  at  425  and  426  State  Street.  Cars  will  stop  at  these  places. 
Guides  will  be  on  hand  to  assist  visitors  in  securing  rooms. 

6-7  P.M. :  Supper. 

8-9  P.M.:  Visit  to  the  state  capitol,  senate  and  assembly  chambers, 
offices,  executive  rooms,  etc.  Informal  reception  by  Governor 
La  Follette.  Enter  capitol  at  north  door,  where  guides  will  be 
in  waiting. 

Saturday,  June  j 

6-7.30  A.M.  :  Breakfast,  visit  to  university. 

8-9  A.M.  :  Women  visit  domestic-science  department.  South  Hall. 

8-9  A.M. :  Men  at  engineering  building  and  machine  shops. 

9-9.30  A.M. :  Men  and  women, —  Science  Hall,  geological  and  bio- 
logical museums. 
'  9.30-10  A.M. :  Gymnasium,  —  running  track,   drill  room,  ball   cage, 
and  natatorium. 

10-10.45  A.M.:  Joint  Historical  Library, — -museums,  reading  rooms, 
book  stacks,  etc. 

10.45-1 1  A.M.  :  Take  cars  for  boat  landing,  foot  of  Carroll  Street. 

1 1 -1 2.30:  Boat  ride  on  Lake  Monona. 

12.30-2  P.M. :  Dinner  at  Central  Hotel,  Fess  House,  and  One  Minute 
Rest. 

2.10  P.M.  :  Leave  Madison  for  Janesville. 

The  entire  trip  was  most  profitable.  Madison  is  a  beau- 
tiful place,  and  the  weather  was  that  of  "a  day  in  June, 
when,  if  ever,  come  perfect  days."  On  our  return  home  a 
stop  of  one  hour  was  made  at  Janesville  to  inspect  the 
plant  of  the  Rock  County  Sugar  Beet  Company.  This  is 
the  company  that  so  generously  donated  beet  seed  to  the 
boys  of  the  Experiment  Club. 

At  the  Illinois  State  College  of  Agriculture  the  Winne- 
bagoes  were  warmly  greeted  by  Dean  Davenport  and  his 
faculty,   and  during  the   entire   stay   every  courtesy   was 


EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS 


165 


shown  us  and  every  effort  made  to  make  the  visit  pleasant 
and  profitable.  In  the  main,  the  tour  of  inspection  here  and 
at  Iowa  was  the  same  as  that  described  for  Wisconsin. 

At  Illinois  College  and  Station  the  men  and  boys  spent 
one  afternoon  in  walking  over  the  experimental  farm  and 
listening  to  the  explanations  of  the  instructors  in  farm 
crops,  dairying,  live  stock,  horticulture,  etc.  Sugar  beets, 
corn,  soy  beans,  cow  peas,  oats,  wheat,  and  alfalfa  were 
inspected.     Some  roots  of  the  alfalfa  were  pulled  up,  and 


Fig.  82.    Looking  at  the  Live  Siuck.  Ame>  (Iowa)  l-.\periment  Station 

the  boys  were  shown  the  tubercles  in  which  are  the  bac- 
teria that  .store  the  nitrogen  from  the  air  and  thus  serve  to 
maintain  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  It  seemed  like  a  fairy 
story  to  the  boys  to  be  told  that  the  soil  must  be  inocu- 
lated by  these  bacteria,  and  a  field  was  shown  on  the 
experimental  farm  from  which  this  inoculated  soil  was 
being  sent  to  various  points  in  Illinois,  so  that  the  farmers 
might  scatter  it  over  their  own  fields  to  insure  the  growth 
of  alfalfa,  the  multiplication  of  bacteria,  the  gathering  of 
nitrogen,  and  the  consequent  enrichment  of  the  soil. 

Is  not  this  knowledge  worth  while  in  the  education   of 
the  farmer  boy  of  Illinois  ?    Does  it  not  rank  in  importance 


1 66       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

with  the  fact  which  he  commits  to  memory  from  his  geog- 
raphy that  the  Nile  River  overflowing  annually  keeps  up 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  for  the  people  of  Egypt?  Our 
fathers  bought  land  from  the  government  for' $1.25  per 
acre.  Providence  furnished  rain,  sunshine,  and  a  fertile 
soil,  and  rich  fields  of  grain  covered  the  face  of  the  earth. 
It  could  not  be  otherwise  with  proper  industry.  Now  science 
must  go  with  industry  if  our  boys  expect  to  make  five  per 
cent  clear  profit  on  land  costing  not  $1.25  but  $1 25  per  acre 
in  northern  Illinois,  in  this  beautiful  Rock  River  valley. 

Following  is  an  account,  written  by  a  ten-year-old  boy, 
of  his  impressions  of  an  excursion  to  the  Illinois  College  of 
Agriculture. 

The  trip  was  a  very  enjoyable  one,  and  I  will  try  to  tell  you  about 
some  of  the  things  that  we  saw  there.  We  left  Rockford  June  5,  at 
4.30  A.M.  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  Between  Rockford  and 
Chicago  I  saw  thirteen  schoolhouses,  none  of  which  had  any  trees  in 
the  yard.  At  Chicago  Superintendent  Kern  took  us  to  see  Logan's 
statue.  We  had  time  before  leaving  to  get  a  general  view  of  the  lake 
front,  Michigan  Avenue,  and  to  see  the  tallest  mercantile  building 
in  the  world.  We  left  Chicago  for  Urbana  at  8.30  a.m.  In  South 
Chicago  I  saw  the  drainage  canal  and  the  swinging  bridges. 

At  Kankakee  there  are  stone  quarries,  but  soon  after  leaving  there 
I  saw  no  stone  quarry  and  noticed  that  most  of  the  foundations  of  the 
houses  were  brick.  There  was  a  noticeable  change  in  the  appearance 
of  the  trees.  I  saw  no  leaf-blighted  branches  nor  half-dead  trees. 
The  groves  which  I  saw  looked  thrifty.  The  country  from  Chicago 
to  Urbana  is  very  level  and  I  saw  many  flooded  fields. 

On  arriving  at  Champaign  about  noon  we  were  conducted  by 
Mr.  Fred  H.  Rankin  to  specially  provided  cars,  on  which  we  rode  to  the 
university  grounds.  We  were  met  there  by  the  dean  of  the  college 
(Mr.  Davenport),  who  conducted  us  to  the  stock-judging  pavilion, 
where  we  were  served  with  coffee,  sandwiches,  and  cake. 

After  dinner  we  were  shown  through  the  main  agricultural  build- 
ing, each  professor  explaining  his  part.    This  is  the  largest  building 


EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS  167 

devoted  to  this  purpose  in  the  world.  Then  Professor  Shamel  took 
us  over  the  fields  and  showed  and  told  us  about  the  sugar  beets,  cow 
peas,  SO}'  beans,  and  the  wheat  which  had  been  planted. 

He  showed  us  a  piece  of  land  that  had  been  planted  to  corn  for 
twenty-five  years  without  once  having  been  manured.  He  showed  us 
a  field  of  alfalfa,  and  pulled  up  one  of  the  plants  that  we  might  see 
the  tubercles  that  deposit  the  nitrogen  taken  from  the  air  into  the  soil. 

Here  also  they  were  experimenting  on  planting  corn,  oats,  clover, 
cow  peas,  and  soy  beans  at  different  depths.  We  were  shown  the  horse 
department,  where  they  have  some  fine  specimens  of  the  Morgan  horse. 


Fig.  83.    At  the  Oats  Breeding  Plots,  Ames,  Iowa 

We  next  went  to  the  dairy  barns  and  saw  the  herd  of  cows  under 
a  test.  In  the  beef  department  they  had  three  car  loads  of  cattle 
feeding  for  a  test.  They  also  had  some  fine  specimens  of  Polled 
Angus  and  Shorthorns.  From  the  cattle  department  we  went  to  the 
orchards,  where  the  spraying  of  trees  was  explained  to  us.  In  the 
evening  we  were  entertained  at  Morrow  Hall.  Each  professor  gave 
a  short  talk  explaining  his  department  and  what  was  being  done  in  it. 

The  next  morning  we  met  at  the  Armory  and  were  conducted 
through  the  gymnasium  and  the  engineering  hall.  .  .  .  Some  of  the 
other  buildings  which  we  visited  are  the  electrical  and  mechanical 
engineering  buildings,  the  hydraulic  building,  the  central  heating 
plant,  the  natural-history  hall,  and  the  library  building.  The  latter 
is  considered  the  finest  building  on  the  grounds  and  contains  fifty 


1 68 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


thousand  volumes.  Having  some  time  left,  I  revisited  the  museum  in 
the  natural-liistory  hall. 

The  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering  buildings  seemed  to  be 
of  special  interest  to  the  boys.  One  of  the  professors  said  he  thought 
it  was  because  the  wheels  went  round.  Perhaps  he  was  right.  But  I, 
for  one,  would  like  to  take  a  course  in  this  or  some  similar  institution 
and  find  out  what  makes  the  wheels  go  round. 

The  excursionists  went  through  the  laboratories,  where 
they  saw  students  at  work  on  corn,  soil,  etc.  Dr.  C.  G. 
Hopkins,  Chief  in  Agronomy  and  Chemistry,  of  the  Illinois 


Fig.  84.    Inspecting;  ^iuauci  ai  Ames,  Iowa 

College  of  Agriculture,  together  with  his  assistants,  has  for 
seven  years  been  investigating  and  breeding  corn  so  as  to 
increase  the  yield  per  acre  and  at  the  same  time  improve 
its  composition  or  quality.  Four  different  strains  of  corn 
have  been  developed,  namely,  the  "  Illinois  high  protein," 
"  Illinois  low  protein,"  "  Illinois  high  oil,"  and  "  Illinois 
low  oil."  Briefly,  the  work  has  been  to  breed  up  the 
average  size  of  the  ear,  to  eliminate  barren  and  inferior 
stalks,  and  to  increase  the  amount  of  oil  and  protein.  The 
protein  is  the  nitrogenous  substance  in  corn,  and  is  the 
fundamental  food  required   by  growing  stock  to  produce 


EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS 


169 


muscle,  bone,  and  tissue,  while  the  oil  is  the  fatty  part  of 
corn,  which  is  wanted  by  the  feeder  of  cattle  and  hogs;  at 
the  same  time  corn,  having  a  high  percentage  of  oil,  has  a 
higher  commercial  value  for  factory  use. 

Corn  is  king.  The  visitor  who  inspected  the  farm 
exhibits  in  the  Palace  of  Agriculture  at  the  Louisiana  Pur- 
chase Exposition  must  have  been  impressed  with  the  royal 


Fig.  85.    The  Famous  "Blue  Grays"  on  E.xperiment  Farm,  Ames,  Iowa 


claims  of  corn  above  all  the  other  grains  of  the  field.  But 
to  my  mind,  after  a  study  of  the  exhibits  of  corn  there, 
the  prodigal  display  of  corn  with  its  many  manufactured 
products  was  not  the  most  significant  thing  in  this  wonder- 
ful exhibition.  Near  the  huge  pyramid  of  golden  ears  raised 
by  the  farmer  boys  of  Illinois,  in  the  space  allotted  to  the 
Prairie  State,  was  a  small  exhibit  that,  perhaps,  did  not 
attract  the  attention  of  more  than  one  out  of  every  five 


I70  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

hundred  persons  who  strolled  through  this  fascinating  build- 
ing. It  was  an  exhibit  of  the  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture 
and  Experiment  Station,  showing  the  results  of  seven  years 
of  scientific  breeding  and  consequent  development  of  corn. 
Here  was  an  illustration  of  things  done  in  the  domain  of 
the  new  agriculture,  a  page  from  the  scientific  text-book 
on  the  new  education  for  the  farm,  —  a  book  which  in  its 
wonderful  possibilities  reads  Uke  some  tale  of  magic.  The 
mastery  of  this  book  means  greater  power  for  the  new 
farmer,  and  our  country  schools  must  be  able  to  teach  the 
country  child  how  to  read  it.  The  educational  excursion 
will  help  to  reveal  to  the  country  people  the  possibilities 
of  the  new  country  school. 

The  excursion  to  the  College  of  Agriculture  at  Ames, 
Iowa,  in  1904,  gave  most  of  the  boys  and  girls  their  first 
glimpse  of  the  mighty  Mississippi  River.  Many  of  them 
had  never  been  outside  of  their  home  county;  a  few  had 
never  been  on  a  railroad  train  ;  but  in  this  centennial  year 
of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  while  most  of  them  did  not  go 
to  the  St.  Louis  Exposition,  yet  they  could  say  that  they 
traveled  over  a  part  of  the  Louisiana  territory,  which  one 
hundred  years  ago  wise  statesmen  at  Washington  regarded 
as  a  vast  wilderness  not  likely  to  be  settled  for  a  thousand 
years  to  come.  It  was  a  great  excursion  through  some  of 
the  finest  portions  of  Illinois  and  Iowa.  Surely  this  is  the 
garden  spot  of  the  world  and  worthy  of  all  effort  to  dignify 
the  occupation  of  the  people,  to  develop  the  science  of  agri- 
culture, and  to  enrich  the  life  and  reward  more  abundantly 
the  labor  of  a  people  who  till  the  finest  fields  ever  showered 
with  sunshine  or  rain. 

A  raft  of  logs  was  seen  while  we  were  crossing  the 
Mississippi  River  at  Clinton,  Iowa.    In  their  after-school 


EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS 


171 


work  this  would  serve  to  interest  the  pupils  in  the  lumber 
industry  and  the  reason  of  its  decline  along  the  river.  Why 
does  the  state  of  Michigan  have  a  forestry  commission  ? 
Why  teach  forestry  in  the  Michigan  State  Agricultural 
College  ?  What  is  forestry  anyway  ?  Why  plant  trees  ? 
When  school  children  plant  trees  on  barren  school  grounds, 
are  they  having  a  part  in  the  great  forestry  movement 
sweeping  over  the  country  ?    Connect  the  country  school 


Fig.  86.    Winnebagoes  "  on  the  Trail "'  to  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
June,  1905 

more  with   life.    Plant   trees   and   flowers,   and   in   school 
gardens  care  for  plants  and  learn  of  the  soil. 

Our  boys  and  their  fathers  were  much  interested  in  the 
cross-breeding  experiment  in  cattle  going  on  under  the 
direction  of  Dean  Curtiss,  Director  of  the  Experiment 
Station.  While  looking  at  the  famous  "Blue  Grays,"  Dean 
Curtiss  said  : 

This  is  the  first  work  of  this  kind  to  be  taken  up  in  America.  In 
Scotland  this  system  of  producing  cattle  has  been  practiced  for  a 
number  of  years.  The  "  Blue  Gray  "  cattle  produced  by  this  cross 
are  decidedly  the  most  popular  feeding  Galloways  on  the  market,  and 
it  is  also  claimed  that  their  meat  is  superior  to  that  of  other  stock. 


172       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Feeding  experiments  are  being  conducted  with  these  cattle  at  the 
college,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  investigations  they  will  be 
slaughtered  and  careful  block  tests  made  to  determine  the  relative 
quality  of  their  meat  and  economy  of  production. 

On  our  way  to  Ames  we  passed  through  an  Indian  reser- 
vation, and  the  boys  and  girls  saw  some  of  the  descendants 
of  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  Louisiana  Territory,  lead- 
ing much  the  same  life  as  their  ancestors  of  one  hundred 
years  ago.  There  were  rude  wigwams,  with  the  squaws 
weaving  bright-colored  blankets.  As  the  train  whirled 
through  this  bit  of  uncivilized  country  small  patches  of 
corn  were  seen  growing  here  and  there.  It  was  a  far  cry 
from  the  corn  patches  of  these  Indians  to  the  corn  experi- 
ments of  the  Ames  Station  and  the  corn  train  which  ran 
throughout  Iowa  for  four  weeks  in  the  spring  of  1904  under 
the  direction  of  Professor  P.  G.  Holden  of  the  Iowa  College 
of  Agriculture. 

Professor  Holden  traveled  through  most  of  the  state  on 
special  trains  furnished  by  the  railroads.  His  object  was 
to  interest  the  farmers  in  scientific  methods  of  corn  raising, 
especially  in  the  matter  of  the  selection  of  proper  seed  for 
the  spring  planting.  This  was  Agricultural  College  exten- 
sion work  on  a  large  scale.  If  his  work  should  result  in  the 
increase  of  one  bushel  per  acre  on  the  basis  of  1903  seed- 
ing, it  would  be  an  increase  of  7,398,320  bushels  in  Iowa's 
corn  crop.  This  means  over  two  million  dollars  added  to 
the  wealth  .of  Iowa. 

The.  selection  and  testing  of  seed  corn  is  one  of  the  most 
important  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  easiest  ways  for 
the  country  school-teacher  to  begin  elementary  work  in  agri- 
culture. A  box  of  earth  in  the  schoolroom  and  an  ear  of  corn 
from  seed  selected  by  some  farmer  in  the  neighborhood 


EDUCATIONAL  EXCURSIONS 


173 


are  all  the  material  needed  at  first.  Of  course  a  sufificient 
amount  of  moisture  and  heat  are  necessary  when  the 
grains  of  corn  are  put  into  the  box  of  earth.  Moist  sand 
will  do  as  well  as  dirt.  Put  one  hundred  kernels  into  the 
box  and  see  how  many  sprout.  Once  the  work  is  started 
and  the  results  begin  to  be  known,  the  entire  community 


Fig.  87.    The  Arrival  ,,:    ^:,,>':-    ;■  :    '.:.  1  ;  .nt  of  the  New  College 
of  Agriculture,  University  of  Wisconsin 

will  soon  become  interested.    This  work  can  be  made  to 
correlate  with  arithmetic  and  language  work. 

A  valuable  bulletin  for  help  and  suggestion  may  be  had 
of  Dean  Davenport,  Urbana,  Illinois.  This  bulletin,  No.  96, 
"The  Testing  of  Corn  for  Seed,"  issued  by  the  Experi- 
ment Station,  is  written  by  Albert  N.  Hume,  First  Assist- 
ant in  Crop  Production.  It  is  finely  illustrated,  and  I  know 
of  nothing  better  of  its  kind  for  a  beginning  in  the  study 
of  corn.  Mr.  Hume  tells  the  simplest  way  of  sprouting 
seed  and  gives  two  pictures  to  show  all  the  apparatus  neces- 
sary, —  simply  two  dinner  plates  and  moist  sand. 


174  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

To  show  the  importance  of  testing  seed  corn  before 
planting,  the  following  quotation  is  given  from  the  bulletin: 

Granting,  then,  that  8.81  per  cent  of  the  seed  planted  failed  to 
grow,  and  that  there  were  1,000,000  bushels  of  corn  used  for  seed  in 
Illinois,  the  amount  of  corn  planted  which  did  not  grow  was  88,100 
bushels.  Valuing  it  at  $2.00  per  bushel,  it  represented  a  dead  loss  of 
$176,200.  This  amount  alone  would  pay  for  testing  practically  every 
ear  of  corn  planted  in  Illinois,  counting  labor  at  $1.50  a  day.  The 
great  loss,  however,  consists  in  the  shortage  of  the  crop,  due  to  this  poor 
seed.  The  valuation  of  the  corn  crop  in  Illinois,  as  given  in  the  year- 
book of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  1903,  was  $95,000,000.. 
Counting  the  proportionate  loss,  therefore,  which  might  have  been 
prevented  by  proper  testing  of  seed  corn,  we  have  $8,369,500.  The 
data  herein  presented  certainly  justify  the  conclusion  that  such  a  sum 
could  have  been  saved  by  Illinois  corn  growers  the  past  year  by 
properly  testing  seed. 

The  expectation  is  that  the  educational  excursion  for 
1906  will  return  to  Urbana  to  see  the  growth  of  the 
Illinois  College  of  Agriculture  and  of  the  University  of 
Illinois  since  1903. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  THE   FARMERS' 
INSTITUTE 

At  the  Illinois  State  Farmers'  Institute  round-up  held  at 
Joliet,  February  21-23,  1905,  Professor  Frank  Hall,  Super- 
intendent of  the  Illinois  Farmers'  Institutes,  gave  an  inter- 
esting report  with  reference  to  attendance  for  the  institute 
season  just  closed.  From  reports  of  ninety  counties  out  of 
one  hundred  and  two,  the  attendance  was  as  follows  : 

Farmers 20,000 

Fanners'  wives        10,000 

School  teachers 2,000 

Pupils 20,000 

Total 52,000 

The  word  "  farmers  "  stands  for  those  directly  interested 
in  agriculture.  There  are  at  least  five  hundred  thousand 
farmers  in  Illinois,  so  that  by  the  above  figures  one  farmer 
in  twenty-five  attended  the  institutes  throughout  the 
state.  There  are  twenty-seven  thousand  teachers  in  the 
state.  Thus  one  out  of  every  thirteen  teachers  attended 
the  institutes.  But  these  two  thousand  teachers,  allowing 
an  average  of  twenty  pupils  to  the  teacher,  come  in  contact 
with  forty  thousand  pupils. 

Superintendent  Hall  further  reports  that  combination 
institutes  were  held  in  many  counties,  where  at  the  request 
of  the  County  Superintendent  of  Schools  the  schools  were 
closed  for  Educational  Day  and  teachers  and  pupils  attended 
the  sessions  for  that  day. 

175 


176 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


The  superintendent  names  thirty-eight  school  superin- 
tendents and  prominent  teachers  who  have  appeared  on  the 
programme  of  the  various  farmers'  institutes.  In  at  least 
thirty  counties  the  pupils  of  the  eighth  grade  and  of  the 
high  school  in  the  city  in  which  the  institute  was  held 
were  allowed  to  attend  one  or  more  sessions  of  the  local 
institutes.  Very  interesting  sessions  of  this  kind  were 
held  in  Christian,  Jasper,  Jefferson,  Kendall,  Knox,  Macou- 
pin, Madison,  Montgomery,  Piatt,  Richland,  Tazewell,  and 


Fig.  88.    Country  Children  in  School 

Williamson  counties.  The  report  of  the  State  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Illinois  Farmers'  Institutes  for  1904 
states  that  about  sixty  county  superintendents  of  Illinois 
are  cooperating  with  the  institute  ofificials.  Special  men- 
tion by  name  is  made  of  the  county  superintendents  of 
Alexander,  Boone,  Crawford,  Christian,  Dupage,  Dekalb, 
Edgar,  Fulton,  Franklin,  Greene,  Hancock,  Henry,  Jack- 
son, Jersey,  Johnson,  Knox,  Kane,  Kendall,  Lake,  Lasalle, 
Marion,  Mason,  Mercer,  McLean,  Moultrie,  McHenry, 
Ogle,  Perry,  Pulaski,  Peoria,  Rock  Island,  Schuyler,  Shelby, 
Stephenson,  Whiteside,  and  Winnebago  counties. 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE    177 

Superintendent  Hall  further  stated  at  the  Joliet  meeting: 

The  county  superintendents  of  schools,  of  whom  special  mention 
was  made  in  my  last  report  (1904)  as  zealously  cooperating  with  the 
institute  officials,  have  been  no  less  helpful  and  efficient  in  the  insti- 
tute work  this  year.  It  is  through  these  men  and  women  that  we  are 
able  to  reach  to  some  extent  the  country  schools.  It  is  quite  within 
reasonable  bounds  to  say  that  thousands  of  young  people,  through 
the  efforts  of  these  officials  and  the  superintendents  of  city  schools, 
supported  and  encouraged  by  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction,  Alfred  Bayliss,  have  this  year  been  brought  face  to  face, 
for  the  first  time,  with  some  of  the  interesting  revelations  of  the 
new  agriculture. 

At  the  three  days'  session  of  the  state  institute  held  at 
Joliet,  Illinois,  February  21-23,  1903,  the  three  evening  ses- 
sions were  of  an  educational  character.  Of  course  this  was 
true  of  all  other  sessions,  but  these  evening  sessions  were 
devoted  more  particularly  to  educational  problems  of  the 
farm  and  the  school.  The  subjects  discussed  were  as  fol- 
lows :  What  the  Country  Schools  should  Offer  the  Country 
Boy  and  the  Country  Girl ;  Boys'  Clubs  and  School  Gar- 
dens ;  The  Farm  Home ;  Education  as  Related  to  Useful 
Occupations.  There  were  also  lectures  illustrated  with  the 
stereopticon. 

All  the  above  is  given  to  show  how  the  farmers'  insti- 
tute is  developing  as  an  educational  movement.  It  must 
do  that  if  it  is  to  do  any  permanent  good.  The  institute 
programme  as  a  means  of  entertainment  — as  an  imitation 
of  the  vaudeville  —  is  fast  disappearing.  If  the  farmers' 
institute  movement  is  to  continue,  a  class  of  young  people 
must  be  educated  to  attend  and  so  become  leaders  when 
the  present  leaders  pass  off  the  scene  of  action.  In  some 
places,  where  no  effort  is  made  to  interest  the  boys  and 
girls  and  young  people  generally,  the  officers  seem  to  be 


178  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS  . 

controlled  by  the  thought  that  when  they  (the  officers)  die 
all  wisdom  is  to  die  with  them.  So  the  sessions  are  not 
advertised  or  the  programme  thought  out,  and  the  attendance 
is  made  up  of  two  or  three  dozen  retired  farmers  living  in 
the  town  where  the  institute  is  held.  The  meeting  is  held 
in  a  hall  that  is  either  cold  and  poorly  lighted,  or  heated 
red-hot  with  a  smoky  stove,  and  no  ventilation. 

The  leaders  of  the  farmers'  institute  movement  in  the 
United  States  are  quickly  realizing  the  importance  of  the 
effort  to  interest  boys  and  girls  and  the  country  school- 
teacher in  the  work  of  the  institutes  and  in  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  new  agriculture.  Mr.  John  Hamilton,  Farmers' 
Institute  Specialist  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  in  a  recent  letter,  said  : 

I  now  think  that  the  farmers'  institute  movement  must  take  hold 
of  the  country  boy  and  the  country  girl.  We  have  been  dealing  with 
the  fathers  and  mothers  thus  far,  which  was  a  necessity  until  the 
value  of  the  institute  was  demonstrated  ;  but  we  have  come  now,  in 
my  opinion,  to  a  time  in  which  it  will  be  possible  for  us,  in  many 
states,  to  go  a  step  further  and  take  hold  of  the  young  people  who 
are  living  on  the  farm. 

Your  success  in  interesting  those  in  your  county  is  proof  of  the 
practicability  of  the  plan  if  it  is  properly  organized  and  enthusi- 
astically conducted.  There  is  no  reason  why  we  cannot  change  the 
whole  sentiment  of  our  country  in  a  comparatively  few  years,  if  we 
go  about  it  in  a  systematic  way.  Agriculture  can  be  made  popular 
as  well  as  profitable,  if  those  of  us  who  are  interested  in  country  life 
take  hold  of  the  work  in  the  right  way  and  present  the  features  that 
appeal  to  young  minds  in  an  attractive  way. 

At  the  boys'  session  of  the  Winnebago  County  Farmers' 
Institute  held  in  1903  a  programme  was  arranged  which 
included  reports  of  experiments  by  members  of  the  Experi- 
ment Club,  and  addresses  by  teachers,  school  officials,  and 
others,  the  proceedings  being  enlivened  by  music. 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE     179 


Such  was  our  first  programme,  and  the  hall  had  standing 
room  only,  and  not  much  of  that.  The  boys'  and  girls' 
sessions  have  been  crowded  ever  since.  The  work  described 
by  the  boys  was  for  1902,  the  first  year  of  the  boys'  club. 
It  is  worth  far  more  to  the  reader  to  know  what  was  said 
that  morning  than  that  I  should  theorize  on  the  value  of 
such  meetings ;  hence  I  offer  no  apology  for  presenting 
here  extracts  from 
the  papers  of  some 
of  the  speakers. 
Some  of  the  ad- 
dresses were  printed 
in  the.  local  press 
and  thus  scattered 
over  the  county. 
The  most  significant 
ones  were  printed  in 
my  annual  report 
and  sent  over  the 
county  also.  Work 
of  this  character 
needs  to  be  followed 
up  till  —  well,  I 
should  say,  till  these 
boys  have  boys  of 
their  owji.  The  fault  with  us  at  times  in  movements  of 
this  character  is  that  we  make  a  great  spasmodic  effort 
for  a  year  or  so  and  then  put  on  our  halos  and  rest  in  per- 
fect ecstasies  of  self-satisfaction.  Then  the  interest  dies 
out,  and  you  would  never  know  there  had  been  a  revival  in 
the  county.  A  good  motto  is,  "  Keeping  everlastingly  at 
it  brings  success." 


Fig.  89.    A  Boy  at  his  Desk  in  an  Old- 
Fashioned  Country  School 


l8o       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Following  are  reports  of  three  boys : 

I 

I  grew  one-tenth  acre  sugar  beets ;  cultivated  them  four  times  and 
hoed  once,  making  about  two  days  in  all.  Yield,  seventy-five  bushels  ; 
sugar,  twelve  and  nine-tenths  per  cent;  purity,  eighty  and  one-half 
per  cent. 

Planted  seed  corn  May  12,  away  from  any  other  corn,  about  two 
and  one-half  inches  deep,  with  a  drill.  I  cultivated  it  with  an  eight- 
shovel  cultivator  and  went  through  it  with  a  two-shovel  plow  once. 
I  found  about  two  suckers  on  each  hill  of  my  prize  corn. 

I  did  some  of  the  observation  work  sent  out  by  the  state  College 
of  Agriculture.  The  average  number  of  stalks  on  a  plot  ten  hills 
square  was  three  hundred  and  eighteen  and  the  number  of  barren 
stalks  was  eight;  per  cent  of  barren  stalks  was  two.  There  were 
twelve  suckers  and  eight  suckers  with  ears  on,  —  that  is,  on  the  average 
of  three  tests.  It  was  early  yellow  corn  and  was  planted  three  inches 
deep. 

The  raising  of  corn  and  beets  has  showed  me  that  corn  or  any- 
thing else  cannot  be  raised  without  good  cultivation  and  moisture,  to 
make  a  profitable  business.  I  have  learned  that  corn  needs  medium 
rich  soil,  as  corn  raised  on  a  stony  soil  will  not  amount  to  much  with- 
out a  good  deal  of  rain.  When  a  boy  has  a  plot  of  his  own  and  is 
working  for  a  premium  he  is  a  great  deal  more  likely  to  work  harder 
on  his  corn ;  and  if  in  the  habit  of  doing  his  work  well,  he  is  going 
to  make  a  better  farmer. 

I  think  work  of  this  kind  will  make  the  farmer  boy  think  and 
depend  more  on  himself,  as  the  corn  is  to  be  raised  by  himself.  He 
will  do  it  well.  I  would  like  to  go  on  and  do  better  work,  as  I  have 
become  interested  in  finding  out  who  does  the  best  work  and  who 
gets  the  premiums.  .  .  . 

II 

I  learned  in  cultivating  my  beets  that  thorough  cultivation  is  neces- 
sary to  get  good  results.  There  is  not  much  sugar  in  beets  grown 
in  sand,  but  clay  produces  a  better  sugar  beet.  I  found  also  that  a 
beet  entirely  isolated  did  not  do  well  at  all.  I  do  not  find  it  a  very 
profitable  business  even  at  six  dollars  a  ton.     I   also  raised  forty 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'   INSTITUTE     i8l 

bushels  of  carrots  from  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  seed,  and,  carrots 
being  worth  about  four  times  as  much  as  beets,  they  are  a  great  deal 
more  profitable. 

Ill 

My  experimental  work  began  with  the  testing  of  seed  corn  and 
clover  seed.  My  corn  tested  eiglity-two  per  cent  and  my  clover  seed 
tested  seventy-five  per  cent,  which  I  considered  a  very  poor  test. 

...  I  harvested  my  beets  the  first  week  in  November  and  had 
"about  one  hundred  and  forty-four  bushels.  I  put  them  in  the  cellar 
and  am  feedino;  them  to  the  cows.    Thev  make  excellent  cow  food. 


Fig.  90.    Country'  Children  in  School 


In  my  corn  experiment  I  found  out  that  thorough  cultivation  is 
not  all.  We  must  have  plenty  of  moisture  and  plenty  of  sunshine  to 
insure  a  crop.  It  has  taught  me  to  observe  other  farms,  —  those  that 
have  been  poorly  cultivated  and  those  where  the  cultivation  was  per- 
fect. I  have  learned  that  a  clean  cultivation  is  far  the  best.  I  have 
found  out  by  testing  oats  for  smut  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  oats 
is  spoiled  in  this  way.  One  of  our  neighbors  lost  at  least  a  third  of 
his  crop  by  smut.  This  could  have  been  averted  by  a  little  treatment 
beforehand.  This  man  had  no  idea  there  was  any  treatment  of  oats 
for  smut.  I  am  greatly  in  favor  of  keeping  up  with  the  experiments. 
I  think  I  have  benefited  very  much  in  my  last  year's  experiments. 


1 82  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

The  four  following  papers  were  read  by  adults  : 

I 

1.  I  think  the  better  way  for  the  fathers  to  help  along  the  work 
would  be  for  them  to  join  the  boys'  clubs. 

2.  Let  them  meet  with  the  club  once  a  quarter  or  oftener  and  talk 
the  work  over  with  the  boys. 

3.  They  can  help  the  work  along  by  furnishing  the  boys  a  small 
plot  of  ground,  the  best  there  is  on  the  farm,  to  carry  on  experimental 
work.  Let  the  plot  be  not  far  from  the  house,  nor  in  some  corner  where 
it  will  be  shaded  half  of  the  time,  but  out  in  the  open  field  where 
the  sun  will  shine  on  it  from  sunrise  until  sundown. 

4.  When  it  comes  spring  and  planting  time  the  fathers  can  help 
along  the  work  by  having  one  of  the  boys  get  the  ground  ready  for 
planting  a  week  before  they  need  to  plant  and  see  to  it  that  they  get 
it  in  good  order. 

5.  The  fathers  can  help  the  boys  along  by  furnishing  them  a  good 
set  of  garden  tools  instead  of  an  old  rusty  hoe. 

6.  The  fathers  should  see  to  it  that  the  boys  have  good  seed  of 
whatever  kind  they  wish  to  plant,  and  when  they  get  ready  to  plant  go 
along  with  the  boys  and  teach  them  how  to  successfully  plant  and 
raise  a  crop  of  vegetables  or  melons  or  grain,  as  the  case  may  be. 
Planting  the  seed  is  where  most  of  the  boys  would  fail  by  planting 
them  too  deep.  Show  the  boys  how  to  hoe  and  cultivate  the  crops, 
and  the  best  way  to  care  for  them. 

7.  Let  the  boys  know  that  you  are  interested  in  what  they  are  doing. 
There  is  nothing  that  will  encourage  a  boy  so  much  as  to  know  his 
father  is  interested  in  his  work.  Right  here  I  would  say :  Don't 
expect  too  much  from  the  boys  at  the  start,  as  they  have  to  learn  a 
little  at  a  time,  as  we  did  years  ago.  Don't  expect  that  the  rows  in 
his  garden  will  be  straight  or  that  the  weeds  won't  grow  there,  for 
they  will,  just  the  same  as  they  will  grow  in  your  garden. 

8.  Another  way  the  fathers  may  help  along  the  work  of  the  boys' 
club  is  to  give  the  boys  the  use  of  one  half  an  acre  of  ground  to  cul- 
tivate and  care  for  in  their  own  way.  Let  them  plant  whatever  they 
think  would  pay  them  best,  and  let  them  have  the  proceeds  for  their 
own  individual  use.   In  that  way  the  boys  will  learn  to  work,  and  work 


iS: 


1 84       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

will  become  pleasure  to  them,  because  they  feel  that  they  are  earning 
something  for  themselves. 

II 

The  time  is  not  very  many  years  back,  certainly  not  beyond  the 
recollection  of  us  older  ones,  when  on  these  broad  and  then  fertile 
prairies  of  northern  Illinois  anybody  who  could  tickle  the  soil  with  a 
plow  could  make  it  laugh  with  a  harvest.  And  we,  poor  simple  souls, 
thought  it  was  inexhaustible  ;  and  we  burned  our  straw  stacks,  send- 
ing up  in  smoke  milhons  of  dollars  of  fertility  that  should  have  been 
returned  to  the  soil.  We  plowed  the  httle  valleys  that  should  have 
remained  in  grass  to  keep  the  soil  from  washing  away,  —  we  plowed 
them  and  made  water  courses,  and  the  spring  rains  took  advantage 
of  it  and  carried  other  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  soil  down  the  rivers 
to  help  fill  up  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.    What  have  we  got  for  it  all  ? 

We  got  some  valuable  experience.  We  found  we  needed  agricultural 
colleges,  and  a  farm,  and  a  lot  of  intelligent  men  to  experiment  with 
the  soil,  with  seeds,  the  various  crops,  farm  animals,  and  insect  pests. 
We  've  got  them,  and  they  teach  us  something  new  every  year.  .  .  . 

I  think  every  father  should  encourage  his  own  boys  to  join  an 
experiment  club.  Having  joined,  he  should  give  them  every  facility 
for  carrying  out  the  experiment  selected  for  the  club  work.  Give 
them  a  good  plot  of  ground.  Advise  them,  but,  having  done  this, 
leave  them  to  work  out  their  own  ideas,  modified  by  your  advice  or 
not  as  they  may  think  best.  He  should  beget  enthusiasm  in  them  by 
being  enthusiastic  over  the  experiments  himself. 

Let  him  impress  upon  them  this  fact,  that  no  matter  whether  their 
crop  is  a  good  or  poor  one,  their  experiment  has  not  been  a  failure, 
for  they  have  learned  something  they  did  not  know  before. 

When  fathers  can  do  so  they  should  offer  prizes  for  the  club 
exhibits.  Let  each  offer  what  he  best  can,  —  a  lamb,  a  calf,  a  pig,  in 
fact  anything  of  value  to  the  boys.  .  .  . 

Ill 

Some  one  has  said,  "  Three  things  fix  a  man's  value  in  life,  —  his 
knowledge,  or  what  he  knows  ;  his  ability,  or  what  he  can  do  ;  and  his 
character,  or  what  he  is."    The  school  is  intended  to  help  pupils  in 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE     185 

securing  all  three.  We  read  books  in  order  to  learn  what  others  have 
thought  and  done  before  us,  but  neither  knowledge,  ability,  or  char- 
acter comes  from  books  alone.  We  must  also  study  the  men  about 
us,  that  we  may  learn  what  others  are  doing  now;  and  we  must  study 
the  things  about  us  in  order  to  learn  how  nature  works  and  how  we 
must  take  hold  of  things  if  we  would  succeed. 

You  notice  what  was  said,  —  "We  must  study  the  things  about  us 
if  we  wish  to  succeed."  Who  needs  to  do  that  more  than  the  farmer, 
or  the  boy  who  intends  to  become  a  farmer .''  Are  we  in  our  district 
schools  teaching  the  boys  to  study  the  things  about  them?  We 
should  be,  if  we  are  striving  to  keep  them  on  the  farm.  What  could 
better  rouse  their  interest  or  create  a  liking  for  the  farm  than  the 
study  of  nature,  or,  as  we  may  call  it,  the  study  of  agriculture  ? 

The  Boys'  Experiment  Club,  organized  about  a  year  ago,  has 
begun  to  do  something  to  interest  the  boys  in  farming  and  farm  life. 
Effects  of  their  work  can  already  be  seen  ;  but  the  boys  need  encour- 
agement and  help  in  their  work,  and  the  district  school  ought  to  give 
it.  And  how  can  the  school  do  this?  The  first  thing  is  to  get  the 
sympathy  and  interest  of  the  parents  ;  then  their  encouragement  and 
help  ;  and  every  parent  ought  to  be  interested  and  willing  to  help  us 
in  this,  if  he  wishes  his  boy  to  remain  on  the  farm,  be  contented  with 
farm  life,  and  at  the  same  time  make  a  success  of  it. 

In  order  to  encourage  the  boys  in  their  experimental  work  tlie 
school  should  have  an  experimental  garden.  Here  we  can  use  the 
help  of  the  parents  and  the  directors.  They  sliould  see  to  it  that 
the  ground  in  some  parts  of  the  school  yard  is  plowed  or  thoroughly 
spaded.  The  pupils,  under  the  direction  of  the  teacher,  would  do  the 
rest ;  they  could  bring  rakes,  hoes,  and  other  tools,  and  carefully 
prepare  the  soil  and  plant  the  seeds. 

In  time  the  seeds  would  begin  to  grow  and  of  course  the  weeds 
also.  Then  the  children  could  be  taught  how  to  keep  their  garden 
free  from  weeds.  They  could  learn  the  names  and  habits  of  com- 
mon weeds  and  the  methods  of  ridding  the  soil  of  them,  and  could 
make  experiments  similar  to  those  which  the  boys  in  the  club  are 
making. 

Then  all  along  they  could  be  taught  the  value  of  tools  and  the 
proper  way  of  taking  care  of  them.  Perhaps  if  the  schools  take  up 
the  study  of  agriculture  in  earnest  and  teach  the  boys  some  practical 


1 86 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


things,  when  these  boys  become  the  farmers  of  Winnebago  County 
we  shall  not  see,  as  we  go  through  the  country,  valuable  farm  imple- 
ments going  to  rust  and  ruin  because  the  farmer  is  too  shiftless  or 
careless  or  ignorant  to  put  them  under  shelter. 

These  are  some  of  the  things  we  propose  to  teach  the  boys  and 
also  the  girls  of  Winnebago  County,  if  the  parents  and  directors  will 
first  do  their  duty  in  the  matter.    Also  the  pupils  could  be  taught  to 


Fig.  92.    A  Subject  for  Consideration  at  the  Farmers'  Institute 

take  pride  in  keeping  the  garden  and  the  whole  school  yard  neat  and 
clean.  Then  when  these  boys  and  girls  get  to  be  school  directors  the 
teacher  and  the  pupils  will  not  be  obliged  to  wade  through  weeds  in 
the  school  yard  when  they  commence  school  in  September,  —  weeds 
so  high  that  the  smaller  pupils  can  hardly  see  over  them.  This  is 
what  some  of  us  have  had  to  do. 

But  some  will  say,  "Will  not  all  this  interfere  with  the  regular 
work  of  the  school?"  It  will  take  time,  of  course,  but  is  not  this  as 
important  as  the  regular  school  work?  What  is  the  use  of  teaching 
our  boys  how  to  compute  compound  interest  if  we  send  them  from 
school  so  ignorant  concerning  farming  that  they  make  a  failure  of  it? 
Then  they  will  not  need  to  know  how  to  compute  compound  interest. 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE     187 


There  are  some  things  that  can  be  learned  better  from  experience 
than  from  books,  and  those  are  the  things  we  propose  teaching  the 
coming  farmers  of  Winnebago  County,  if  parents  and  directors  will 
help  us. 

IV 

The  degree  of  a  man's  success  upon  the  farm  depends  more  on 
himself  than  on  the  farm.  His  intelligence  and  ambition,  the  deter- 
mination, energy,  the  brain  as  well  as  the  brawn  power  which  he  puts 
into  his  work  are  the  growth  of  habit,  beginning  with  the  primary  educa- 
tion of  the  boj',  and 
must  necessarily  begin 
where  the  boy  begins. 

The  fact  that  the  dis- 
trict school  is  the  place 
where  the  boys  begin 
makes  it  the  most  im- 
portant factor  to  build 
up  agricultural  interest. 
The  work  at  the  begin- 
ning must  appeal  to  the 
interest  of  the  boys 
through  practical  work 
in  observing  and  experi- 
menting with  soil,  plant 
life,  and  the  farm  in 
general. 

The  school  garden  as 
a  means  to  an  end  has 
a  practical  bearing  in 
agricultural  education, 
and  is  in  the  reach  of  every  district  school  at  a  cost  not  to  be  con- 
sidered. How  will  the  boys  become  practical  farmers  by  working  in 
a  school  garden  ?  They  learn  by  practical  experience  how  nature 
yields  to  labor  under  various  conditions ;  they  learn  how  to  love  and 
care  for  the  things  that  are  a  source  of  profit  to  the  farmer  and  give 
beauty  to  his  home.  Industry  is  the  result  of  this  practical  work 
which  is  the  propelling  power  of  knowledge. 


Fig.  92 


A  Subject  for  Consideration  at  the 
Farmers'  Institute 


1 88       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

The  schools  of  Europe  are  a  proof  of  what  the  school  gardens 
can  do  for  agriculture  if  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  pupils  and  their 
teachers.  Germany  leads  the  world  in  practical  and  profitable  methods 
in  agriculture,  and  there  the  school  garden  is  most  higlily  developed. 

The  uncomfortable  schoolhouse,  the  neglected  yard  growing  weeds, 
shadeless  and  barren,  can  offer  nothing  to  the  farmer  boy  to  inspire, 
to  educate,  and  interest.  To  improve  these  conditions  is  a  duty  every 
farmer  must  make  his  personal  interest  if  life  on  die  farm  is  to  im- 
prove. A  little  interest,  a  little  work,  a  little  financial  help  will  set 
these  silent  and  practical  forces  at  work  to  interest  the  boys  upon  the 
farm  through  the  district  school.  From  the  school  the  experimental 
club  will  be  recruited.  A  greater  demand  for  the  experimental  farm, 
the  agricultural  school,  and  the  farmers'  institute  will  be  the  result.  .  . . 

The  programme  for  the  boys'  session  is  varied  from  year 
to  year.  The  expectation  for  1906  is  to  have  reports  from 
different  members  of  the  club  similar  to  those  given  above 
for  1903.  These  reports  will  be  followed  by  a  stereopticon 
address. 

The  following  is  self-explanatory  : 

Office  of  County  Superintendent  ok  Schools, 
RoCKFORD,  Illinois,  December  20,  1904 
To  the  Schools  of  Winnebago  County : 

It  is  my  wish  that  there  be  a  close  cooperation  between  the 
schools  and  the  farmers'  institute  of  our  county.  Teachers  may  tell 
school  officers  that  I  recommend  that  the  schools  close  on  the  day  of 
the  boys'  and  girls'  programme,  and  that  teachers  and  children  attend 
the  institute  on  that  day.  The  directors  should  give  the  teachers  this 
day  without  loss  of  pay. 

Do  not  forget  the  date,  Thursday,  January  12,  1905.  Teachers 
will  please  have  children  distribute  these  programmes  throughout 
their  respective  districts.  Urge  all  to  go  and  see  the  exhibits  of  corn, 
needlework,  and  bread,  and  listen  to  the  speakers.  Quite  as  much 
of  an  educational  value  will  be  acquired  by  attendance  on  the  boys' 
and  girls'  day  as  in  an  ordinary  day's  work  at  school.  Let  every  one 
plan  to  be  present.  si„,„,„.  ^^  ^^  ^^^^ 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE     189 

The  farmers  of  Winnebago  County  for  the  years  1905 
and  1906  believe  enough  in  the  boys  and  girls  to  give  their 
own  money  for  cash  prizes  without  asking  the  merchants 
of  the  city  of  Rockford  to  give  collar  buttons,  link  cuff 
buttons,  whips,  lap  robes,  and  poultry  food. 


Fig.  94.    Studying  C(jin 


Premiums  for  Winnebago  County  Boys'  Corn-Growing 
•       Contest 


All  Premiums  Cash 

First  prize Fifteen  dollars  (Si 5.00) 

Second  prize Ten  dollars  ($10.00) 

Third  prize Five  dollars  ($5.00) 

Fourth  prize Three  dollars  ($3.00) 

Fifth  prize Two  dollars  (S2.00) 

Next  ten  prizes One  and  one-half  dollars  (Si. 50)  each 

Ne.xt  ten  prizes One  dollar  (Si. 00)  each 

To  all  others  making  an  exhibit  cash  premiums  li'ill  be  ax^-'arded  at  the 
discretion  of  the  Corn  Committee. 

Note.  The  three  boys  taking  first,  second,  and  tliird  premiums  will  be  expected 
to  write  an  article  for  Superintendent  Kern  after  the  institute,  telling  about  the 
preparation  of  seed  bed,  planting,  cultivation,  and  harvesting  of  prize  corn. 


I90 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


CORN   SCORE   CARD 

(Revised  January,  1905) 

Entry  No 

, County   Farmers*  Institute 

Scale  of  Points  Score 

Trueness  to  type 10           

Uniformity  of  exhibit 5           

Shape 10 

Color lo 

Seed  condition 10           

Tips 5           

Butts 5           

Kernel  uniformity 5           

Kernel  shape 5           

Length  of  ear 10           

Circumference  of  ear 5 

Space  between  rows 5           

Space  between  kernels  at  cob 5           

Proportion  shelled  corn  to  ear 10           

Total 100           


Judge 


Name. 


Name  and  address  of  exhibitor  to  be  added  here  after  score  is  made. 


Address.. 


SxANDARn  Measure.mexts 

Le.noth 

Reid's  Yellow  Dent lo-n 

Learning ,o-,i 

White  Superior lo-ii 

Boone  County  White 10-11 

Riley's  Favorite g_,o 

Golden  Eagle \     \  q_io 

Silver  Mine 9-10 


Circum- 
ference 

754-8 
7    -tA. 

7    -7^ 


Propor- 
tion 

88% 
88% 


90% 
90% 
90% 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE     191 

Measurements   for  Varieties  not  named  above  and  for   Mixed 

Varieties 

Length     Circumferenxk    Proportion 

Northern  Illinois 9-10  6M-7K  88% 

Central  and  southern  Illinois     ....       lo-ii  yVi-'jyi,  88% 

In  all  exhibits  made  prior  to  November  1 5  of  each  year  all  standards  of  length 
and  circumference  shall  be  increased  one-half  inch,  and  standards  of  per  cent  shall 
be  reduced  two. 

Exhibitors  may  remove  two  kernels  side  by  side  from  the  same  row  at  the  middle 
of  the  ear  for  kernel  examination. 

Explanatory 

1.  Trueness  to  type:  conforming  to  variety  characteristics  in  variety  classes, 
and  to  the  prevailing  type  in  general  classes. 

2.  Uniformity  of  exhibit:  uniform  in  shape,  length,  and  circumference. 

3.  Shape :  ear  cylindrical,  with  proper  proportion  of  length  and  circumference. 

4.  Color  :  free  from  mixture  and  true  to  variety  color.  In  judging  color  a  red 
cob  in  white  corn  or  a  white  cob  in  yellow  corn  shall  be  cut  ten  points.  For  each 
mixed  kernel  up  to  five  a  cut  of  one  fifth  of  a  point  shall  be  made ;  for  five  or  more 
mixed  kernels  a  cut  of  one  point  shall  be  made.  Kernels  missing  from  the  ear  may 
be  counted  as  mixed,  at  the  discretion  of  the  judge.  Difference  in  shade  of  color  of 
grain  or  of  cob  shall  be  scored  according  to  variety  characteristics. 

5.  Seed  condition  :  ripe,  sound,  dry,  and  of  strong  vitality. 

6.  Tips :  oval  shape  and  regularly  filled  out  w  ith  large  dented  kernels. 

7.  Butts :  kernels  rounded  over  the  end  of  cob  in  regular  manner,  leaving  a 
deep  depression  when  shank  is  removed. 

8.  Kernel  uniformity :  kernels  from  the  same  ear  and  from  the  several  ears 
uniform  in  size  and  shaps. 

9.  Kernel  shape:  kernels  deep,  wedge-shape,  and  full  at  the  germ  end. 

10.  Length  :  varies  with  the  variety  measure.  The  deficiency  and  excess  in  length 
of  all  ears  shall  be  added  together,  and  for  every  inch  thus  obtained  a  cut  of  one 
point  shall  be  made.  In  determining  the  length  measure  from  the  extreme  tip  to  the 
extreme  butt. 

11.  Circumference;  varies  with  the  variety  measure.  The  deficiency  and  excess  in 
circumferences  of  all  ears  shall  be  added  together,  and  for  every  inch  thus  obtained 
a  cut  of  one  point  shall  be  made.  Measure  the  circumference  at  one  third  the  distance 
from  the  butt  to  the  tip. 

12.  Space  between  rows:  furrows  between  rows,  and  space  caused  by  round 
corners  of  kernels. 

13.  Space  at  cob:  space  in  row  between  kernels  at  cob.  To  examine  for  "space 
at  cob"  take  out  several  kernels  near  the  middle  of  the  ear;  then  observe  the 
kernels  of  an  undisturbed  row  near  the  cob. 

14.  Proportion  :  In  determining  the  proportion  of  corn  to  cob  weigh  each  alternate 
in  the  exhibit ;  shell  and  weigh  the  cobs ;  subtract  the  weight  of  the  cobs  from  the 
weight  of  the  ears,  thus  obtaining  the  weight  of  the  corn ;  divide  the  weight  of  the 
shelled  corn  by  the  weight  of  the  ears,  thus  finding  the  per  cent  of  corn.  For  each 
per  cent  short  of  the  standard  for  variety  a  cut  of  one  point  shall  be  made. 


192 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


The  following  circular  letter  was  mailed  to  every  member 
of  the  Boys'  Experiment  Club : 

Winnebago  County  Farmers'  Institute, 
RocKFORD,  Illinois,  April  4,  1905 

To  the  Members  of  the  Winnebago  County  Fanner  Boys'  Experi- 
ment Club: 
We  are  pleased  to  be  able  to  tell  you  that  at  a  recent  meeting  of 
the   officers   of  the   Winnebago    County   Farmers'    Institute  it  was 
decided  to  have  a  boys'  corn-growing  contest  again  this  year,  open 

to  any  boy  in  the  county 
eighteen  years  of  age 
and  under,  and  it  was 
also  decided  to  offer  all 
premiums  in  cash. 

Reid's  Yellow  Dent 
Corn,  grown  in  this 
county,  will  be  furnished 
this  year  by  the  Winne- 
bago County  Farmers' 
Institute,  and  any  boy 
wishing  to  enter  the  con- 
test will  receive  a  pack- 
age of  seed  by  writing 
to  E.  M.  Breckenridge, 
County  Secretary,  Rural 
Route  No.  3,  Rockford, 
Illinois,  inclosing  four 
cents  in  stamps  to  pay 
postage  on   the  corn. 


Fig.  95.    Studying  Com 


Write  your  name  and  post-office  address  very  plainly. 

Each  boy  must  write  for  his  own  seed. 

The  conditions  on  which  the  corn  is  sent  and  received  to  be  as 
follows.  A  package  of  the  seed  will  be  presented  on  condition  that 
the  boy  receiving  same  shall  plant  three  hundred  grains  of  it  in  a  square, 
with  the  balance  in  two  rows  planted  on  the  south  and  west  sides  to 
fertilize  and  protect  the  inside  rows ;  that  he  will  cultivate  it  and 


Fig.  96.    Pure-Bred  Cattle 


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.^<srs 

J 

iTfli^jiPsk 

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i^S^Siri 

L 

s 

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1 

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^4MS^^  ' 

^jmHUii 

rV 

^ 

^tf  .v-^^H 

•^^g^.y- 

____^^ 

h^in 

•4VBS^i9> 

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,^^£^ 

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Kg:- 

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w 

rVSr  SV^^ 

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---'S*^:. 

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■■■          IHHl           BHiH 

Fig.  97.    Studies  in  Corn 


•93 


194 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


harvest  it  and  exhibit  not  less  than  ten  ears  at  the  Winnebago  County- 
Farmers'  Institute,  the  ten  ears  or  more  for  exhibition  to  be  taken 
from  the  inside  square,  and  nowhere  else.  It  is  further  agreed  by 
the  boy  receiving  this  corn  that  he  will  comply  with  the  rules  gov- 
erning the  exhibit  of  xorn  at  the  county  institute,  and  that  he  will 
attend  at  least  one  session  of  the  institute,  and  that  he  will  follow  as 
far  as  possible  the  suggestions  sent  with  the  package  in  regard  to 
keeping  the  record  of  growing  the  corn. 

Many  of  you  entered  the  corn-growing  contest  last  year  and  made 
exhibits  at  our  last  county  institute,  and  we  hope  many  more  will 
try  this  year. 

Remember  the  prizes  will  all  be  cash  again  this  year. 

Wishing  you  a  successful  year,  we  are, 

Yours  truly, 

W.  I.  Wells,  President 
E.  M.  Breckenridge,  Secretary 

After  the  corn  is  sent  to  the  boys  who  ask  for  it,  the 
following  four-page  folder  is  mailed  to  each  boy  : 


REPORT   OF    CORN    GROWN 


Name 

Address. 


IN 


BOYS'    CORN-GROWING    CONTEST 

Winnebago  County,  1905 
Corn  grown  in Township 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE     195 
Report  of  Corn 

(Report  to  pertain  oily  to  the  hills  in  which  the  three  hundred 
grains  were  planted  in  the  inside  square) 

1.  Kind  of  soil 

2.  Previous  crop  on  lot 

3.  Manure  used,  if  any 

4.  Time  and  depth  of  plowing 

5.  Cultivation  of  ground  before  planting 

6.  Date  when  planted 

7.  Cultivation  before  it  came  up 

8.  Date  when  it  came  up 

9.  Cultivations  (times  and  kind) 


10.  Implements  used 

11.  When  laid  by 

12.  Date  of  tasseling 

13.  Date  of  silking 

14.  Date  when  gathered 

15.  Number  of  hills 

16.  Number  of  stalks 

17.  Number  of  ears 

18.  Number  of  barren  stalks 

19.  Total  weight  at  time  of  gathering... 

20.  Injury  from  cutworms  and  insects. 

Remarks 


196 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


To  the  Boys  of  the  Winnebago  County  Corn-Growing  Contest  : 

Two  copies  of  these  report  blanks  will  be  mailed  to  each  boy  to 
whom  seed  has  been  sent  by  the  Winnebago  County  Farmers'  Insti- 
tute.   Fill  out  both  blanks  just  alike,  and  as  carefully  and  accurately 

as  you  can.  Keep  one  of  the 
reports  yourself  for  future 
reference,  and  about  Decem- 
ber I  mail  the  other  one  to 
the  County  Secretary,  E.  M. 
Breckenridge,  Rural  Route 
No.  3,  Rockford,  Illinois, 
with  a  letter  about  how  your 
corn  did,  and  whether  or  not 
you  are  going  to  make  an 
exhibit  of  ten  ears  at  the 
next  county  institute,  which 
we  expect  to  hold  January 
16-18,  1906. 

The  keeping  of  this  record 
will  be  of  equal  value  to  your- 
self.    Don't   forget   to    mail 
one  of  them  to  the   County 
Secretary  next  December. 
We  expect  to  be  able  to 
give  a  good  cash  prize  to  every  boy  who  makes  an  exhibit  of  his  corn. 
Hoping  you  will  have  a  very  successful  year  in  your  work,  we  are, 


Embryo 
Stem 


Starch 


£mhryo 
Jioot 


Fig. 


A  Cross  Section  of  a  Kernel 
of  Com 


Yours  truly, 


E.  M.  Breckenridge,  Secretary 


W.  I.  Wells,  President 


In  1904  a  Girls'  Home  Culture  Club  was  organized  in 
our  county,  and  now  numbers  three  hundred  members. 
The  Domestic  Science  Association  is  expected  to  take  as 
great  an  interest  in  this  organization  as  does  the  farmers' 
institute  with  the  boys. 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE     197 

Premiums   for   Home   Culture   Club  (1904) 
Xeedlework  Contest 

The  farmers'  institute  througli  the  Domestic  Science  Association 
offers  the  following  prizes  to  the  girls  of  the  Home  Culture  Club  for 
sewing,  patching,  and  darning,  the  work  to  be  all  done  by  exhibitor. 
The  prizes  in  each  case  will  be  :  first,  Si  .00  ;  second,  50  cents. 

Six  prizes  for  girls  of  twelve  years  and  under.  Six  prizes  for  girls 
from  twelve  to  eighteen  years  of  age,  which  for  each  class  will  be: 

Two,  —  a  first  and  second  for  best  handkerchief  made  by  hand. 

Two,  —  a  first  and  second  for  best  setting  in  a  patch  in  a  piece 
of  plaid  goods. 

Two,  —  a  first  and  second  for  best  darning  a  hole  not  less  than 
one  inch  in  diameter  in  either  dress  goods  or  table  linen,  darning  to 
be  done  with  either  silk,  linen,  or  cotton  thread. 

To  the  five  girls  doing  the  most  skillful  work,  a  gentleman  offers 
five  books,  not  less  than  $1.25  each,  the  girl  doing  the  best  work  to 
have  the  first  choice,  the  second  best  the  second  choice,  and  so  on. 

Bread-Making  Contest 

The  Farmers'  Institute  also  offers  cash  prizes  to  the  girls  of  the 
Home  Culture  Club  for  bread,  to  be  made  according  to  requirements 
stated  in  a  circular  letter.  Mrs.  Mabel  Howe  Otis  of  Chicago  will 
judge  the  bread  by  the  Illinois  Household  Science  Score  Card. 

For  girls  twelve  years  old  and  under,  first  prize,  $3.00;  second, 
S2.00;  third,  $1.00. 

For  girls  over  twelve  and  under  eighteen,  first  prize,  $3.00  ;  second, 
$2.00  ;  third,  $1.00. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  very  best  loaf  exhibited  by  any  girl  com- 
plying with  requirements  will  receive  a  special  prize  of  a  Universal 
Bread  Machine. 

Bread  must  be  brought  in  Wednesday,  January  11,  and  each  loaf  ac- 
companied with  a  written  statement  of :  (i)  how  it  was  made  ;  (2)  time 
left  to  rise  ;  (3)  number  of  times  kneaded  ;  (4)  length  of  time  spent  in 
kneading  ;  (5)  how  long  it  was  in  the  oven.  Bread  must  be  baked  in 
pans  approved  by  the  Household  Science  Department  of  the  University 
of  Illinois,  which  measure  nine  inches  by  four  inches  by  four  inches. 


198  AMONG  COUN  TRY  SCHOOLS 


BREAD  SCORE  CARD 

Flavor 35  Points 

Lightness '5 

Grain  and  texture • 3°      " 

f  Color 

Crust    -l   Depth  }- •  •    •      5 

L  Texture 


/  Color  \ 

Crumbs   _^       ,.  > 

\^  Doughmess  J 

} 


5 


f  Shape 
\  Size 


Loaf      ^   ^.    ^  > 5 


Moisture 5      " 

IOC  points 

Directions  for  Making  Bread 

Sift  and  measure  the  flour;  scald  milk  and  put  in  bowl ;  add  salt 
and  cold  water,  then  yeast  mixed  smoothly  in  warm  water;  then  add 
flour  to  make  a  batter  and  beat  until  full  of  bubbles ;  gradually  add 
more  flour;  when  too  stiff  to  stir  rub  a  little  flour  on  molding  board  ; 
turn  out  dough  and  knead  till  it  does  not  stick  to  your  hands  or 
board  and  feels  elastic  ;  put  back  in  bowl  ;  set  in  a  warm  place  to 
rise  about  three  hours,  or  until  it  is  twice  its  original  size  ;  shape  into 
a  loaf,  using  little  or  no  flour ;  when  again  light  bake  fifty  or  sixty 
minutes  ;  take  out  of  pan,  but  do  not  cover  until  cold. 

We  hope  to  have  three  hundred  loaves  from  the  three  hundred 
Home  Culture  Club  girls,  which  will  count  ninety-eight  points  each, 
and  then  Winnebago  County  can  be  registered  as  the  banner  county 
of  good  bread  makers  for  the  state  of  Illinois. 

Mrs.  W.  L.  Frisbe,  President 
Harriet  A.  Enoch,  Secretary 

The  ladies  of  the  Domestic  Science  Association  very 
wisely  ignored  fancy  needlework  and  angel  cake.  The 
chances  are  that  if  a  girl  can  bake  good  wholesome  bread 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  AND  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE     199 

her  cakes  will  be  all  right  ;  and  to  be  able  to  darn  well  is 
more  important  than  Battenberg.  The  work  for  1904  will 
be  continued  for  1905. 

I  ha\e  gone  into  detail  in  showing  how  the  country  school 
and  the  farmers'  institute  can  cooperate,  and  I  have  done 
this  because  so  many  have  written  me  for  information  with 
reference  to  specific  instructions  for  doing  tilings.     In  our 


Fig.  99.    The  Cooking  Class.  Macdonald  Consolidated  School, 
Middleton,  Nova  Scotia,  Canada 

traveling  libraries  I  put  a  number  of  books  for  teachers  and 
pupils  along  the  line  of  home,  farm,  and  country-life  interests. 
It  is  far  from  my  purpose  to  attempt  to  say  how  the 
farmers'  institute  movement  can  be  improved.  Abler  men 
are  at  work  on  that.  Valuable  bulletins  issued  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  at  Washington,  D.C.,  are  the  following  : 

Proceedings  of  the  Ninth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Associa- 
tion of  Farmers'  Institute  Workers  held  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
October  18-20,  1904,  by  W.  H.  Beal,  John  Hamilton,  and  G.  C. 
Creel  man. 

Annual  Report  of  Farmers'  Institutes,  1904,  by  John  Hamilton. 

Farmers'  Institutes  in  the  United  States,  by  John  Hamilton. 

Farmers'  Institutes  in  the  United  States,  by  D.  J.  Crosby. 


200 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


I  will  close  this  chapter  by  stating  that  too  much  must 
not  be  expected  of  boys  and  girls  at  first.  In  order  to  get 
things  done  one  will  need  to  camp  on  a  boy's  trail  and 
keep  after  him  in  a  right  way.  In  reading  over  the  plans 
of  work  given  above  one  must  read  between  the  lines  to 
realize  the  constant  hard  work  and  earnest  thought  that 


Fig.  ioo.    Root  Growth  of  Corn  at  Time  of  Tas.seliiig 

are  necessary  to  make  plans  succeed.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
say  the  last  word  on  this  subject.  There  is  a  great  field 
for  cooperation  of  the  farmers'  institute  and  the  district 
school  in  the  direction  of  the  material,  social,  moral,  and 
intellectual  conditions  affecting  the  country  school  and  the 
country  child. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE    NEW   AGRICULTURE   AND    THE    COUNTRY 
SCHOOL 

What  place  ought  agriculture  to  have  in  the  district 
school,  and  what  kind  of  agriculture  ought  it  to  be  ?  The 
following  quotation  from  a  prominent  agricultural  journal 
pretty  nearly  sizes  up  the  situation : 

Enough  spasmodic  theorization  on  teaching  practical  agriculture 
and  JEsthetic  nature  study  has  been  expended  to  pay  off  the  national 
debt.  Let  us  pass  into  the  next  stage  of  the  argument  and  get  down 
to  ways  and  means.  If  our  children  are  to  receive  elementary  instruc- 
tion in  chemistry,  soil,  physics,  vegetable  life,  biology,  botany,  and  all 
the  rest  of  the  list,  some  one  must  teach  them.  How  many  of  them 
are  really  capable  of  teaching  anything  beyond  the  "  a-b,  ab's"  with 
their  hands  tied  behind  them  ?  It  is  not  enough  that  a  teacher  may 
call  up  the  class  in  geography  and  perfunctorily  conduct  a  recitation 
with  her  eyes  glued  to  a  book.  A  teacher  should  inspire  pupils  with  a 
love  of  study.  She  should  make  the  recitation  interesting.  All  this 
applies  not  only  to  the  teaching  of  agriculture  but  to  all  branches 
taught  in  the  country  school,  and  serves  to  emphasize  the  need  of 
adopting  the  central  or  township  system.  It  is  very  difficult  for  any 
teacher  to  develop  the  proper  interest  and  enthusiasm  in  the  work  of 
any  branch  with  only  an  attendance  of  two  or  three  pupils.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  a  great  waste  to  employ  good  teachers  for  only  two 
or  three  students  when  they  can  better  instruct  several  times  that 
number.  Wlien  the  centralized  plan  is  adopted  it  will  be  possible 
with  the  same  outlay  to  supply  a  much  better  class  of  instruction  in 
all  branches. 

Now  an  attempt  will  be  made  in  subsequent  chapters  to 
discuss  the  small  school,  consolidation  or  centralization,  and 


202 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


the  preparation  of  country  teachers  to  meet  the  demands  of 
a  new  education  for  tHe  country  child.  In  this  chapter  the 
first  two  sentences  of  the  above  quotation  will  be  considered, 
especially  the  second,  namely  :  "  Let  us  pass  into  the  next 
stage  of  the  argument  and  get  down  to  ways  and  means." 

The  writer  is  of  the  opinion  that,  so  far  as  one  county  is 
concerned  (and  there  are  others),  the  work  as  set  forth  in 
the  chapters  on  School  Gardens,  A  Farmer  Boys'  Experi- 
ment Club,  Educational  Excursions, and  The  Country  School 
and  the  Farmers'  Institute  in  this  book  does  bear  some 
relation  to  getting  "  down  to  ways  and  means,"  and  shows  a 
corresponding  departure  from  "spasmodic  theorization  on 
teaching  practical  agriculture."  The  writer  claims  further 
that  what  has  been  said  in  those  chapters  is  also  "  practical 
agriculture."  He  cherishes  a  hope  that  the  same  may  be  said 
of  this  and  subsequent  chapters  on  to  the  end  of  his  story. 

In  the  account  of  school  gardens,  boys'  clubs,  excursions, 
and  the  like,  so  far  as  this  has  any  relation  to  the  work  of 
the  district  schools  as  they  noiv  are,  nothing  is  said  about 
pupils  working  with  gang  plows,  harrows,  and  binders,  or 
about  silos,  creameries,  and  separators.  In  short,  nothing 
is  said  claiming  that  children  in  the  country  school  should 
enter  upon  farm  operations  and  raise  crops  to  an  extent  that 
would  make  the  teacher  and  pupils  a  very  serious  factor  in 
crop  production.  It  is  at  this  point  that  there  is  much  mis- 
understanding on  the  part  of  many  farmers.  They  claim 
that  they  are  able  to  "  learn"  their  boys  how  to  plow,  and 
the  mothers  are  equally  confident  of  their  ability  to  "  learn  " 
the  girls  how  to  sew  and  cook.  What  they  want,  they  say, 
in  the  country  school  is  some  one  to  teach  the  "  three  R's, 
with  plenty  of  time  on  'rithmetic  and  spellin',  like  when  we 
went  to  the  district  school  forty  years  ago."- 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE 


203 


Now  I  firmly  believe  in  the  fundamentals,  but  my  belief 
in  them  has  not  yet  led  me  to  an  exclusive  worship  of  them 
to  the  exclusion  of  other  important  educative  material  pecul- 
iar to  the  environment  of  the  country  child.  This  is  a  new 
scientific  age  of  agriculture,  and  to  meet  the  demands  of  a 
new  age  for  the  farmer 
with  reference  to  two 
items  only  —  the  devel- 
opment of  high-bred  corn 
and  the  maintenance  of 
soil  fertility — ^  better 
methods  must  come  as 
the  result  of  better  edu- 
cation somewhere.  It 
is  just  as  reasonable  to 
claim  that,  if  the  school 
of  forty  years  ago  with 
its  curriculum  then  was 
all-sufficient  and  people 
were  happy,  and  strong 
characters  came  from  the 
country  schools,  so  can 
the  farmers  get  along 
without  telephones, 
delivery  of  mail,  self- 
binders,  and  other  improvements.  Then  no  one  dreamed 
of  soil  exhaustion,  and  the  good  old  times  were  the  best. 

Northern  Illinois  and  southern  Wisconsin  are  great  dairy 
regions.  Now  I  suppose  many  people  have  the  idea  that  if 
the  country  school  is  to  teach  agriculture  for  this  particular 
region  and  an  effort  is  made  to  put  the  country  child  into 
a  sympathetic  and  intelligent  relation  to  his  environment, 


Fig.  ioi.  Corn  and  feoy  Jieans  on  Experi- 
ment Field,  Winnebago  County,  Illinois 


204       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

the  school  officers  must  keep  a  cow  on  the  school  grounds  ; 
and  when  the  time  comes  for  the  exercise  in  agriculture  the 
teacher  must  take  the  children  out  to  the  cow  and  give 
instruction  in  milking,  corralling  the  cow,  etc.  No  ;  the 
children  will  learn  how  to  milk  at  home.  But  if  the  very 
valuable  bulletins  from  either  the  Illinois  or  Wisconsin  ex- 
periment stations  on  the  dairy  cow  were  in  the  schoolroom, 
the  children  might  acquire  some  useful  knowledge  about 
such  a  common  thing  as  a  cow  that  would  go  just  as  far  in 
making  a  useful  farmer  and  an  intelligent  citizen  as  what 
children  in  the  country  schools  are  learning  about  the  kan- 
garoo and  the  cockatoo.  But  the  cow  and  the  hen  as 
subjects  of  study  —  perish  the  thought !  And  yet,  with 
reference  to  the  American  hen  the  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture in  his  report  for  1904  says  : 

The  farmers'  hens  are  now  producing  one  and  two-thirds  billions  of 
dozens  of  eggs  yearly,  and  these  hens  during  their  busy  season  lay 
enough  eggs  in  two  weeks,  at  the  high  prices  of  eggs  that  have  pre- 
vailed during  the  year,  to  pay  the  year's  interest  on  the  national  debt. 

In  my  judgment  the  most  important  of  the  "ways  and 
means  "  asked  for  by  the  editor  quoted  above  is  some  move- 
ment that  will  change  the  ideals  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
country  people  with  reference  to  education.  The  argument 
must  appeal  to  the  farmer  from  his  own  point  of  view.  And 
this  argument  (too  largely  at  present  this  is  true)  must  be 
a  dollars-and-cents  one.  Will  it  pay  ?  How  much  will  it  cost  ? 
The  schoolmaster  will  have  to  learn  how  to  meet  the  people 
on  their  own  ground. 

Hodge,  in  Nature  Study  and  Life,  states  a  great  truth 
when  he  says : 

Cultivation  of  plants  has  indicated  and  developed  elements  of 
character  fundamental  to  civilized  life.    Willingness  to  work  for  daily 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE  205 

bread,  intelligent  provision  for  the  future,  courage  to  fight  for  home, 
love  of  country,  are  a  few  among  the  virtues  attained.  When  we 
consider  its  universal  and  fundamental  character,  the  omission  of 
soil  lore  from  a  system  of  education  for  the  young  is  suggestive  of  a 
relapse  to  barbarism. 

The  average  farmer,  however,  at  this  stage  of  the  game 
is  quite  willing  to  risk  the  "relapse  to  barbarism."  What 
he  wants  to  know  is,  Will  it  pay  ?  If  educators  can  show 
him  that  a  study  of  high-bred  corn  and  soil  will  bring 
substantial  returns,  he  is  willing  to  spend  more  money  on 


Fig.  102.    Soy  Beans  on  Experiment  f'ield,  \\  innebago  (.'ounty, 
Illinois 

the  country  school  and  spend  it  in  a  better  way.  This  put- 
ting of  an  educational  system  on  so  low  a  basis  is  highly 
repugnant  to  the  "educator  "  who  cherishes  lofty  ideals  of 
"culture,"  "educational  processes,"  "periods  of  adolescence," 
etc.  But  some  of  us  who  work  in  an  atmosphere  of  real 
life  in  the  fields  have  to  meet  conditions  as  we  find  them. 

The  following  is  a  part  of  an  address  by  Dean  Bailey  of 
Cornell  to  a  body  of  New  York  farmers  : 

If  there  are  one  million  people  in  New  York  State  who  are  en- 
gaged in  agriculture,  and  if  that  one  million  people  must  be  lifted  up 
into  a  newer  and  better  life,  then  why  not  put  before  them  knowledge 


2o6  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

of  the  subjects  with  which  they  have  to  do  day  by  day,  and  put  those 
subjects  into  such  pedagogical  form  that  they  may  be  made  the  means 
of  training  the  minds  of  the  young  people  as  well  as  giving  them 
information  ? 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  little  relation  the  common  schools 
have  to  the  lives  that  men  lead.  The  curriculum  of  our  common 
schools  is  made  from  the  curricula  of  our  old  universities  and  acade- 
mies, made  simple,  and  let  down  to  the  people. 

In  the  beginning  we  must  fasten  the  children's  affections  on  the 
region  in  which  they  are.  We  must  teach  them  the  common  things 
with  which  they  live  from  day  to  day.  That  is  the  new  idea  in  nature 
study  that  is  coming  gradually  into  our  schools.  If  any  one  of  you 
gentlemen  were  to  be  put  into  a  new  community,  where  you  never  had 
been,  and  where  there  was  no  school,  and  were  asked  to  make  a  cur- 
riculum for  a  school,  without  thinking  about  it  or  being  conscious  of  it, 
you  would  put  into  tltat  school  something  having  relation  to  that 
vicinity,  to  the  soil  and  the  animals,  and  those  things  with  which  that 
community  had  to  do. 

The  common  school  is  undergoing  evolution,  and  gradually  its 
point  of  view  is  being  changed.  The  West,  not  fettered  by  tradition 
as  we  are  in  the  East,  is  putting  agriculture  into  its  common  schools, 
as  has  the  South,  having  thrown  off  its  old  ecclesiastical  traditions ; 
and  recently  one  little  book  along  this  line  has  sold  in  the  South  to 
the  extent,  it  is  reported,  of  fifty  thousand  copies.  Up  from  the  South 
and  back  from  the  West  it  is  coming  also  into  the  East  ;  and  I  pre- 
dict that  in  the  next  ten  years  we  shall  see  a  tremendous  revolution  in 
the  attitude  of  the  common  schools  towards  education. 

In  my  humble  opinion  there  has  been  no  more  important 
document  issued  by  the  National  Educational  Association 
than  the  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Industrial  Education 
for  the  Country  Communities,  July,  1905.  The  make-up  of 
this  important  committee  is  this:  Superintendent  L.  D.  Har- 
vey, Menomonie,  Wisconsin,  chairman  ;  Dean  L.  H.  Bailey, 
College  of  Agriculture,  Ithaca,  New  York ;  State  Super- 
intendent Alfred  Bayliss,  Illinois;  State  Superintendent 
\V.  T.  Carrington,  Missouri ;  and  Honorable  W.  M.  Hays, 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE  207 

Assistant  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C.  This 
committee  has  been  at  work  two  years  and  has  been  con- 
tinued for  further  investigation.  This  pamphlet  should  be 
widely  read  and  discussed  by  country  teachers,  school  oflfi- 
cers,  and  members  of  farmers'  institutes.  One  quotation 
here  will  indicate  somewhat  its  importance: 

This  committee  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  in  its  judgment  the 
country  schools,  which  train  nearly  one  half  of  the  school  population 
of  this  country  so  far  as  school  training  goes,  should  definitely  recog- 
nize the  fact  that  the  major  portion  of  those  being  trained  will  con- 
tinue to  live  upon  the  farm;  and  that  there  should  be  specific,  definite, 
technical  training  fitting  them  for  the  activities  of  farm  life.  Such 
schools  will  not  make  farmers  nor  housekeepers,  but  they  will  interest 
the  boys  and  girls  in  farming  and  housekeeping  and  the  problems 
connected  with  these  two  important  vocations. 

After  two  years'  work  with  school  gardens,  excursions, 
experimental  club  work,  lectures,  and  instruction  at  teachers' 
annual  institutes,  and  farmers'  institutes  as  well,  it  seemed 
wise  to  us  in  Winnebago  County  to  make  use  of  one  more 
"ways  and  means"  of  teaching  "practical  agriculture." 
At  least,  this  might  serve  as  a  means  to  induce  teachers, 
school  officers,  and  patrons  to  change  their  opinion  as  to 
the  new  agriculture  and  the  possibility  of  elementary  in- 
struction in  the  country  school.  For  if  we  sit  down  and 
wait  till  teachers  are  trained  or  schools  properly  organized, 
nothing  will  ever  be  done.  But  a  start  can  be  made  and 
the  public  sentiment  educated  to  the  possibilities  of  instruc- 
tion in  elementary  agriculture.  This  last  effort,  beginning 
September,  1904,  was  to  put  the  principal  bulletins  from 
the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  and  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  at  W^ashington  on  the  reading  table  or  in  the 
school  library  of  the  one  hundred  and  sixteen  school  dis- 
tricts  in   the   county  outside  of   Rockford.    The  summary 


2o8  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

of  the  year's  work,  as  taken  from  personal  reports  from 
teachers,  gives  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1905,  a  total 
of  eighteen  hundred  bulletins  so  placed.  Of  this  number, 
one  thousand  are  from  the  Illinois  Station  at  Urbana  and 
eight  hundred  from  the  Department  of  Agriculture  at 
Washington. 

The  following  are  the  principal  ones  from  Illinois  : 

No.  66,  Corn  Experiments  in  Illinois. 

No.  76,  Alfalfa  on  Illinois  Soil. 

No.  82,  Methods  of  Corn  Breeding. 

No.  87,  Structure  of  the  Corn  Kernel  and  the  Composition  of  its 

Different  Parts. 
No.  94,  Nitrogen  Bacteria  and  Legumes. 
No.  95,  The  More  Important  Insect  Injuries  to  Indian  Corn. 
No.  96,  The  Testing  of  Corn  for  Seed. 

These  are  not  all  of  the  important  bulletins  issued  by  the 
Station,  but  they  include  the  more  important  ones  on  corn 
and  soil. 

From  the  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington  : 

No.  79,  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  1904:  Circular,  Soil 
Survey,  with  map  of  Winnebago  County,  Illinois. 

No.  134,  Tree  Planting  on  Rural  School  Grounds. 

No.  94,  The  Vegetable  Garden. 

No.  173,  Primer  of  Forestry. 

No.  60,  The  Teaching  of  Agriculture  in  the  Rural  Common 
Schools. 

No.  218,  The  School  Garden. 

No.  185,  Beautifying  the  Home  Grounds. 

The  expectation  is  to  read  and  discuss  some  of  the  more 
important  of  these  bulletins  during  the  coming  year  in  the 
teachers'  institutes.  Our  country  school-teachers  need  to 
know  something  of  the  great  work  going  on  at  our  higher 


THE   NEW  AGRICULTURE 


209 


institutions  of  agricultural  instruction  and  investigation. 
The  great  majority  of  the  country  school-teachers  are 
entirely  unacquainted  with  the  publications  issued  by  these 
institutions.  These  bulletins,  as  a  rule,  are  free,  and  a 
postal  card  will  put  one's  name  on  the  permanent  mailing 
list  of  the  state  college  and  station.  Through  the  teacher 
in  the  country  school  we  hope  to  get  the  older  pupils  inter- 
ested, and  through  the  school  the  home.  Thus  this  becomes 
an  agent  in  assisting  the  farmers'  institutes,  the  educational 
excursions,  and  the 
young  people's  clubs 
to  bring  about  a 
different  ideal  with 
reference  to  the 
country  school. 

But  the  reader 
may  say,  "I  don't 
live  in  Illinois,  and 
we  are  not  interested 
in  corn  or  soil  in- 
vestigations in  our 
state."  Very  well. 
Put  yourself  in  touch 
with  your  own  state 
College  and  Experiment  Station,  and  find  out  what  they  are 
doing  along  the  line  of  the  particular  crops  peculiar  to  your 
state.  The  corn  crop  is  the  first  in  value  in  the  United 
States,  with  cotton  second,  and  hay  or  wheat  third.  Because 
of  the  writer's  being  on  the  list  of  speakers  for  the  farmers' 
institutes  of  Illinois,  as  selected  by  the  State  Board  of 
Directors,  there  are  sent  him,  through  Mr.  John  Hamilton, 
Farmers'  Institute  Specialist,  Department  of  Agriculture, 


Fig.  103.  A  Traveling  Library  for  District  Schools 
Works  on  Agriculture  and  Country  Life 


2IO  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Washington,  U.C,  bulletins  from  the  Department  and  from 
all  the  principal  state  experiment  stations.  There  is  a  great 
work  being  done  for  the  farmer.  The  immediate  problem  is 
how  to  get  the  average  country  school-teacher  acquainted 
with  some  of  this  work.  If  there  is  sufficient  demand,  I  have 
no  doubt  that  each  state  College  of  Agriculture  will  organize 
an  Agricultural  College  Extension  Department  to  help  the 
teacher  and  children  in  the  country  schools.  Illinois  has 
had  such  a  department  for  three  years,  and  a  most  valuable 
factor  it  is,  too.  New  York  has  one,  and  Ohio  begins  one 
with  Superintendent  A.  B.  Graham  of  Springfield  as  first 
superintendent.  No  doubt  other  states  have  a  like  depart- 
ment or  will  soon  have  one. 

Besides  the  literature  in  the  way  of  bulletins,  our  teachers, 
children,  and  farmers  in  general  for  the  past  two  years  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  the  following  lectures,  and  all 
without  any  charge : 

Corn  Growing  :    Professor   P.  G.  H olden,    College    of    Agriculture, 

Ames,  Iowa. 
The  Kind  of  School  for  Country  People :   Dean  Eugene  Davenport, 

College  of  Agriculture,  Urbana,  Illinois. 
Hirds  and  Their  Benefit  to  the  Farmer:  stereopticon  lecture  by  Ned 

Dearborn,  Field  Columbian  Museum,  Chicago,  Illinois. 
Industrial    Education    for    Country    Communities  :    Superintendent 

L.  D.  Harvey,  Menomonie,  Wisconsin. 
School  Gardens:  stereopticon  lecture  by  Professor  H.  D.  Hemenway, 

Hartford,  Connecticut. 
School  Gardens:  stereopticon  lecture  by  Dick  Crosby,  Department 

of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C. 
The  Farm,    Home,   and  School  :    stereopticon  lecture  by  Assistant 

County  Superintendent  C.  W.  Farr,  Chicago,  Illinois. 
The  Newest  Things  in  Agriculture  :  stereopticon  lecture  by  Principal 

K.  C.  Davis,  Dunn  County  School  of  Agriculture,  Menomonie, 

Wisconsin. 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE  211 

Lest  the  reader  may  conclude  that  ordinary  school  prob- 
lems are  lost  sight  of,  I  give  the  following  list  of  lectures 
given  not  on  the  same  days  as  above  but  during  the  same 
period  of  two  years  : 

Literature  :  Superintendent  N.  D.  Gilbert,  Head  of  Practice  School, 
Northern  Illinois  Normal,  Dekalb. 

Eighth  Grade  Arithmetic  :  Professor  George  Howe,  Normal  Uni- 
versity, Normal,  Illinois. 

Unwritten  School  Law  :  President  David  F'elmley,  Normal  Uni- 
versity, Normal,  Illinois. 

The  Requirements  of  a  Modern  Teacher  :  Dr.  John  W.  Cook, 
President  of  Northern  Illinois  Normal  School  and  ex-President 
of  the  National  Educational  Association. 

Arithmetic  :  Professor  Frank  Hall,  Superintendent  of  Farmers' 
Institutes,  Aurora,  Illinois. 

The  Meaning  and  Scope  of  Education  :  Professor  John  Keith, 
Northern  Illinois  Normal,  Dekalb. 

Seventh-Grade  History  :  Professor  Edward  Page,  Northern  Illinois 
Normal,  Dekalb. 

The  Relation  of  Reading  to  Life  :  Superintendent  W.  L.  Crane, 
Marshalltown,  Iowa. 

No  ;  the  Winnebago  County  teachers  are  not  devoting 
their  entire  time  to  corn.  Many  other  things  are  discussed 
at  the  monthly  teachers'  meetings  and  at  the  annual  insti- 
tutes, and  we  still  try  to  teach  the  fundamentals,  as  the 
subjects  of  two  of  the  above  lectures  show,  namely,  reading 
and  arithmetic. 

In  addition  to  bulletins  from  the  Experiment  Station  an 
excellent  text-book  on  agriculture  was  put  on  the  teachers' 
reading  course  for  Winnebago  County.  This  book  was  read, 
and  in  many  schools  portions  of  it  were  discussed  by  teachers 
with  the  pupils.  The  book  is  Agriculture  for  Begijiiiers,  by 
Burkett,  Stevens,  and  Hill  ;  it  will  be  continued  on  our 
reading  list  for    1905 -1906.     Bailey's    The  Nature  Study 


2  12       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Idea  and   Hemenvvay's  Hoiv  to  Make  a   School  Gardeji 
have  been  read  by  the  teachers  for  the  past  two  years. 

In  the  seventy-three  district-school  travehng  hbraries 
there  are  books  on  elementary  agriculture,  trees,  flowers, 
etc.,  and  country  life  in  general.  In  this  way  pupils, 
teachers,  and  parents,  the  school  and  the  home,  come  in 
contact  with  the  best  of  books.  The  following  is  a  partial 
list.  The  numbers  refer  to  the  number  of  volumes  in  the 
seventy-three  traveling  libraries. 

17  Burkett,  Stevens,  and  Hill's  Agriculture  for  Beginners. 

4  bound  volumes  of  Country  Life  in  America  (1903- 1904). 

6  Ely's  A  Woman's  Hardy  Garden. 

3  Henry's  Feeds  and  Feeding. 

1  Miller's  Children's  Gardens. 

3  Liggett  and  Hayes's  Rural  School  Agriculture. 

3  bound  volumes  of  Review  of  Reviews  (October,  1903-July,  1904). 

2  Sever's  Elements  of  Agriculture. 

2  Sargent's  Corn  Plants.  • 

6  bound  volumes  of  The  World's  Work  (St.  Louis  Exposition 
number). 

4  bound  volumes  of  The  World's  Work  (August,  1903-July,  1904). 
20  Bailey's  The  Nature  Study  Idea. 

1  Blanchan's  Nature's  Garden. 
6  Bailey's  Plant  Breeding. 

20  Hemenway's  How  to  Make  a  School  Garden. 

4  Roth's  First  Book  of  Forestry. 

5  Rogers's  Among  Green  Trees. 

2  Thomp.son's  My  Winter  Garden. 

5  bound  volumes  of  The  World's  Work  (November,  1900-April, 
1903)- 

6  Bradish's  Stories  of  Country  Life. 

3  Bailey's  Garden  Making. 

4  Maynard's  Landscape  Gardening  as  Applied  to  Home  Deco- 
ration. 

7  Shepard's  Life  on  the  Farm. 
7  Stokes's  Ten  Common  Trees. 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE  213 

3  Smith's  Jolly  Good  Times  on  the  Farm. 
6  Weed's  Seed-Travellers. 

20  Ball's  Plant  Life. 
20  Ball's  Animal  Life. 

4  James's  Practical  Agriculture. 

6  bound  volumes  of  The  World's  Work  (August,  1904-July,  1905). 

6  bound  volumes  of  Review  of  Reviews  (August,  1904-July,  1905). 
12  bound  volumes  of  Country  Life  in  America  (August,  1904-July, 
1905). 

24  bound  volumes  of  The  World's  Work,  "  The  Wonderful  North- 
west" (Lewis  and  Clark  E.xposition  number,  August,  1905). 
10  Eggett's  The  School  and  the  Farm. 

I  McFarland's  Getting  Acquainted  with  Trees. 

I  King's  The  Soil. 

I  Powell's  The  Country  Home. 

The  abov'e  list  of  books  in  traveling  libraries,  with  bulle- 
tins from  experiment  stations  and  the  literature  sent  to 
children  and  teachers  of  our  county  by  the  Extension 
Department  of  the  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture,  seems 
to  me  to  be  a  departure  from  "spasmodic  theorization  on 
teaching  practical  agriculture,"  and  an  attempt  to  "pass 
into  the  next  stage  of  the  argument."  We  are  trying  to 
educate  the  teachers  as.  well  as  the  pupils.  It  is  one  thing 
to  have  books  and  bulletins  and  another  thing  to  read  them. 
The  readings  and  discussions  will  be  taken  care  of  during 
the  year  at  the' monthly  and  annual  teachers'  institutes.  I 
attend  every  one  of  these  and  help  along  the  programmes. 
Everybody  is  busy. 

In  1904  the  sum  of  ten  million  dollars  was  spent  in  the 
United  States  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the 
various  state  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations 
in  the  interest  of  higher  education  for  the  American  farmer. 
It  is  money  well  expended.  I  spent  nearly  two  months  at 
the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  at  St.  Louis  trying  to 


214 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


find  out  something  about  two  things:  (i)  what  is  being 
done  in  the  United  States  in  the  way  of  higher  education 
for  the  farmer,  and  (2)  what  is  being  done  to  improve  the 
country  school,  the  place  where  all  the  elementary  educa- 
tion, so  far  as  schooling  goes,  is  given  to  ninety-five  per 
cent  of  the  farmers'  children.     A  study  of  the  exhibits  of 

the  various  experiment 
stations  in  the  Palace 
of  Education  gave  but 
a  faint  idea  of  the  won- 
derful development  of 
the  science  of  agricul- 
ture, but  the  Palace  of 
Agriculture  revealed 
some  of  the  results.  The 
country-school  exhibits 
in  the  various  state  edu- 
cational displays  were 
not  very  extensive,  but 
enough  was  given  to 
show  that  an  earnest 
attempt  is  being  made 
in  several  states  to  ad- 
just the  country  school 
to  the   new  agriculture 


Fig.  104.    An  Exhibit  of  Com  and  Oats 
at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition 


and  the  new  country  life.  Naturally  the  educational  exhibits 
of  great  centers  of  population  received  most  attention  from 
the  press,  but  the  fact  remains  that  nearly  one  half  of  the 
school  population  of  the  United  States  is  being  trained  in 
the  one-room  country  schools,  whence  will  come  the  leaders 
of  a  great  to-morrow  in  all  lines  of  activity.  At  least  ninety 
per  cent  of  these  pupils  in  the  one-room  country  schools 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE  215 

will  remain  on  the  farm  and  engage  in  a  business  that  is 
the  foundation  of  the  world's  prosperity,  the  importance 
of  which  can  better  be  judged  from  the  following  state- 
ment by  Secretary  James  Wilson  in  his  Report  of  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  for  1904  : 

An  occupation  that  has  produced  such  an  unthinkable  value  as 
one  aggregating  nearly  ^5, 000, 000,000  within  a  year  may  be  better 
measured  by  some  comparisons.  All  of  the  gold  mines  of  the  entire 
world  have  not  produced  since  Columbus  discovered  America  a 
greater  value  of  gold  than  the  farmers  of  this  country  have  produced 
in  wealth  in  two  years.  This  year's  (1904)  produce  is  over  six  times 
the  amount  of  the  capital  stock  of  all  national  banks  ;  it  comes  within 
three  fourths  of  a  billion  dollars  of  equaling  the  value  of  the  manu- 
facturers of  1900.  less  the  cost  of  materials  used  ;  it  is  twice  the  sum 
of  our  exports  and  imports  for  a  year  ;  it  is  two  and  a  half  times  the 
gross  earnings  from  the  operation  of  the  railways  ;  it  is  three  and  a 
half  times  the  value  of  all  minerals  produced  in  this  country,  including 
coal,  iron  ore,  gold,  silver,  and  quarried  stone. 

The  efficiency  of  the  country  school  must  be  increased 
in  order  to  give  the  proper  training  to  fit  boys  and  girls 
to  handle  this  immense  business. 

■  The  state  of  Illinois,  by  appropriation  of  the  legislature 
for  the  next  two  years,  is  expending  annually  the  following 
amounts  in  the  interests  of  higher  agricultural  education 
for  the  Illinois  farmers  : 

College  of  Agriculture *!50,ooo 

Live-stock  investigations 25,000 

Corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  clover 15,000 

Soil  investigations 25,000 

Orchard  investigations 1 5,000 

Dairy  investigations 15,000 

Total $145,000 

And  this  money  is  well  spent,  as  the  results  already  .show. 


2i6  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Mention  was  made  in  the  chapter  on  Educational  Excur- 
sions of  the  great  work  of  Professor  Hopkins  in  corn  breed- 
ing at  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station.  A  study  of  his 
report  and  an  inspection  of  the  exhibit  at  St.  Louis  in  the 
Palace  of  Agriculture  is  sufficient  reason,  I  think,  to  main- 
tain that  the  organization  of  a  Boys'  Experiment  Club  to 
grow  high-bred  corn,  educational  excursions  to  the  Experi- 
ment Station,  stereopticon  lectures  on  corn  'at  teachers' 
and  farmers'  institutes,  and  bulletins  on  corn  studied  by 
teachers  and  pupils,  are  all  "  ways  and  means  "  leading  to 
the  "teaching  of  practical  agriculture."  At  least,  work  of 
this  character  will  help  to  modify  the  viewpoint  of  the 
farmers  with  reference  to  the  country  school ;  and  this  is 
the  most  important  thing  now. 

Mr.  E.  E.  Chester,  President  of  the  Illinois  Corn  Growers' 
Association,  reports  as  follows  about  the  corn  growers  of 
Illinois  : 

The  Corn  Growers'  Association  lias  for  its  object  the  very  careful 
and  systematic  selection  of  seed  corn,  and  with  this  in  view  it  has 
developed  a  system  of  measuring  the  good  and  bad  features  of  corn, 
using  this  rule  in  their  corn  schools  and  in  the  selection  of  prize  corn 
in  corn  shows. 

The  Corn  Breeders'  Association  has  for  its  object  the  increase  of 
the  yield  per  acre  by  breeding  only  from  corn  that  has  given  a  high 
yield,  thus  establishing  an  inherited  potency  towards  increase  in  yield. 

The  rule  for  the  Corn  Growers'  Association  is  the  score 
card  given  in  Chapter  IX,  page  190. 

A  large  part  of  the  tvventy-five-thousand-acre  farm  of  the 
Funk  Brothers,  in  the  richest  portion  of  the  corn  belt  of 
Illinois,  is  used  for  breeding  plots  in  the  production  of  high 
types  of  corn.  Following  is  a  single  illustration  showing  the 
increase  of  yield  per  acre.    On  the  Funk  farm  the  1902 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE 


217 


breeding  block  record  for  ear  No.  99,  planted  in  a  single 
row,  showed  a  rate  of  yield  of  eighty  bushels  per  acre  of 
seventy  pounds  of  corn,  while  the  multiplying  record  for 
1903,  planted  in  five-acre  plots,  showed  that  plot  No.  10, 
planted  from  the  progeny  of  ear  No.  99,  yielded  at  the  rate 
of  ninety-nine  and  one-half  bushels  per  acre  of  the  same 
weight  of  corn.  The  boy  of  the  Winnebago  County  Farmer 
Boys'  Experiment  Club 
who  won  first  prize  in 
the  corn  contest  of  1903 
had  a  plot  of  corn  which 
yielded  at  the  rate  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  bushels  per  acre, 
while  several  others  had 
plots  that  approached 
closely  the  hundred- 
bushel  mark.  These 
boys  will  be  the  farmers 
of  the  future  and  will 
raise  greater  crops  than 
their  fathers.  The  finan- 
cial gains  to  the  country 
at  large  will  be  measured 
by  millions  of  dollars. 

The  study  of  soil  has  begun  in  a  practical  way.  In  1903 
two  experts  from  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  Washington,  D.C., 
and  three  men  from  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  spent 
several  weeks  in  our  county  making  a  soil  survey,  noting 
every  type  of  soil  as  small  in  area  as  a  ten-acre  lot.  A  valu- 
able bulletin,  with  a  map  in  various  colors  showing  differ- 
ent types  of  soil,  has  been  published  and  a  copy  put  into 


Fig.  105.    A  Little  Literary  Man 
studying  Corn 


2i8  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

every  country  school  of  Winnebago  County.  This  map,  with 
the  soil  bulletins  issued  by  the  IlUnois  station,  supplemented 
by  school  garden  work,  will  make  a  beginning.  To  be  sure, 
the  results  will  not  be  as  valuable  as  they  would  be  if  the 
teacher  had  some  knowledge  of  soil  physics,  but  it  is  a  begin- 
ning^ If  we  wait  till  all  things  are  ideal,  nothing  will  be 
accomplished.  Illinois  is  spending  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars per  year  in  soil  investigations.  About  twelve  counties 
thus  far  are  surveyed,  and  the  expectation  is  that  the  good 
work  will  continue  till  every  county  in  the  state  has  a  soil 
survey.    This  will  take  eight  or  ten  years  more. 

I  have  tried  to  show  the  possibilities  and  practical  ways 
of  beginning  the  study  of  plant  life  and  soil.  The  same  will 
hold  true  with  reference  to  fruit  and  dairy  interests  in  vari- 
ous sections  of  the  state.  Southern  Illinois  is  developing  a 
great  fruit  industry.  The  state  appropriates  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars  annually  for  orchard  investigations,  and  a  new 
horticultural  building  has  been  erected  on  the  experimental 
farm  at  Urbana.  Bulletin  No.  98,  "The  Curculio  and  the 
Apple,"  is  a  valuable  one-hundred-page  pamphlet  fully  illus- 
trated with  several  colored  plates.  This  should  find  its 
way  into  the  country-school  libraries  of  southern  Illinois, 
or  of  any  part  of  the  state  for  that  matter. 

So  for  animal  life  on  the  farm.  Illinois  is  expending, 
under  the  direction  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  Exper- 
iment Station,  the  sum  of  forty  thousand  dollars  on  dairy 
and  live-stock  investigations.  New  buildings  have  been 
erected  for  these  departments  on  the  farm  at  Urbana. 
■To-day's  mail  brings  all  the  latest  bulletins  issued  by  the 
Extension  Department  under  direction  of  Superintendent 
Fred  Rankin.  The  title  of  one  is,  "Testing  Milk  on  the 
Farm,  —  Suggestions    for    Young    People's   Experimental 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE  219 

Clubs  and  Instruction  in  Agriculture  in  Public  Schools." 
Circular  No.  84  is  "  Records  of  Dairy  Herds  "  in  northern 
Illinois,  by  Arthur  G.  Glover,  a  field  man  connected  with 
the  Dairy  Department  of  the  college.  Bulletin  No.  10 1 
is  "Crops  for  the  Silo,"  etc.  Bulletin  No.  102  is  on  the 
"  Construction  of  Silos."  If  the  teacher  will  but  take  the 
trouble  to  write  a  postal  card  and  have  her  name  put  on 
the  mailing  list  of  the  state  Agricultural  College  and  Experi- 
ment Station,  she  will  receive  the  various  publications  as 
issued.  This  is  the  first  step  towards  "  ways  and  means." 
With  respect  to  the  bulletins  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  Secretary  Wilson  says:  "The  vast 
majority  of  teachers  in  rural  schools  throughout  the  country 
are  unacquainted  with  the  work  and  publications  of  this 
department,  and  do  not  understand  how  these  publications 
might  be  utilized  for  instruction  in  subjects  related  to 
agriculture."  This  is  true  with  respect  to  the  work  and 
publications  of  the  various  states. 

Just  how  the  particular  bulletin  will  be  used  in  the  work 
of  the  country  school  depends  upon  a  great  many  different 
things.  This  is  a  fertile  field  for  discussion  in  the  local 
teachers'  meetings  and  the  annual  institute. 

The  following  is  an  editorial  which  appeared  in  the 
Prairie  Farmer  (Chicago),  July  13,  1905  : 

"  Fads "  in  the  School 

Mayor  McClellan,  of  New  York  City,  took  an  extreme  view  of  the 
situation  when  he  condemned  industrial  education  without  reserva- 
tion on  the  Fourth  before  the  National  Educational  Association.  It 
seems  morally  certain  that  neither  the  educator  nor  the  general  public 
possesses  a  clear-cut  idea  of  the  turning  point  between  what  may  be 
called  legitimate  manual  training  and  the  "fad."    Doubthss  Mavor 


2  20       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

McClellan  was  as  much  wrong  when  he  dubbed  manual  training  as 
a  "get-wise-quick"  scheme  as  was  Commissioner  Draper,  of  New 
York,  when  he  branded  the  "  three  R's  "  as  the  plan  of  education  that 
"  tended  to  create  a  peasant  class." 

There  is  a  middle  ground  between  both  extremes.  We  believe 
that  the  hand  as  well  as  the  intellect  should  be  educated,  but  it  will 
be  unwise  to  endeavor  to  develop  one  at  the  expense  of  the  other. 

The  farmer  is  facing  a  form  of  manual  training  when  the  educator 
advises  him  to  institute  the  study  of  agriculture  and  domestic  science 
in  the  rural  school.  The  Prairie  Farmer  is  in  full  sympathy  with 
both  when  properly  applied,  but  we  hope  that  the  educator  will  be 
wise  enough  to  fit  the  school  for  either  of  these  innovations  rather 
than  attempt  to  fit  them  to  the  school.  It  is  certain  that  if  the  edu- 
cator is  not  wise  and  cautious  in  his  progress,  his  systems  for  improve- 
ment will  be  kicked  out  as  a  "  fad."  Manual  training  needs  sympathy 
rather  than  antagonism. 

Many  of  our  city  schools  have  taken  up  manual  training  with  entire 
success;  others,  like  New  York,  have  maintained  their  work  only  after 
most  serious  opposition.  Obviously  the  former  course  is  preferable. 
It  would  seem  that  if  there  be  any  explanation,  it  is  simply  that  sane 
conservative  direction  forestalls  the  faddish  criticism. 

I  quote  the  entire  editorial  for  the  sake  of  part  of  one  sen- 
tence, with  brief  comment.  The  editor  says,  "  But  we  hope 
that  the  educator  will  be  wise  enough  to  fit  the  school  for 
either  of  these  innovations  rather  than  attempt  to  fit  them 
to  the  school."  So  say  we  all  of  us.  But  the  country-school 
educator  in  his  attempt  "to  fit  the  school"  for  agricul- 
ture must  have  assistance  from  the  public  press  in  mold- 
ing public  opinion.  The  country  school  belongs  to  the 
farmers,  and  the  farmers  must  move,  Somebody  must  "  fit 
them  "  to  the  new  agriculture  instead  of  trying  "  to  fit  "  the 
new  science  to  the  farmer ;  but  if  we  all  wait  till  the  "  fit  "  is 
perfect  in  all  details,  many  generations  must  pass  away 
before  the  country  child  is  allowed  to  find  any  inspiration 
in  his  environment. 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE 


221 


The  public  conscience  out  in  the  field  needs  to  be  aroused 
with  reference  to  the  country  school.  One  prophet  will 
arise  who  will  declare  on  public  occasions  that  the  country 
school  is  all  that  it  should  be  ;  that  it  is  the  palladium  of 
our  liberties,  whatever  that  may  mean  ;  that  all  the  great 
and  good  men  in  the  history  of  our  country  came  from  the 
country  districts  ;  why  should  you  wish  to  add  anything  to 
a  system  of  training 
that  produced  a  Lin- 
coln or  a  Garfield  ? 
"If  elected,  I  will 
—  "  etc.,  etc.  And 
his  reward  is  imme- 
diate and  abundant. 
His  halo  rivals  one 
of  the  rings  of  Sat- 
urn and  can  be  felt 
a  great  distance. 

Another  prophet 
finds  nothing  good 
in  the  existing  order 
of  things.  The  coun- 
try school  costs  too 
much  ;  taxes  are  too  higl\;  consolidation  is  a  fad  ;  it  would 
take  all  the  horses  of  the  state  to  get  the  children  to  the 
school ;  close  the  country  schools  and  send  the  children  to 
town,  etc.,  etc.  He  has  his  reward  also,  but  his  halo  is 
characterized  by  the  diminuendo. 

A  third  man,  not  gifted  with  prophecy  or  with  wisdom 
perhaps  above  the  ordinary,  believes  in  publicity  with  refer- 
ence to  the  country  school,  —  believes  in  taking  the  lid  off 
and  seeing  things  as  they  are.    He  would  give  credit  where 


Fig.  io6.    The  Teacher's  Corner  in  im  Old- 
Fashioned  Country  Schoolhouse 


222  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

credit  is  due,  censure  when  censure  is  deserved  ;  then  sanely 
and  courageously  would  he  set  about  "to  fit "  the  country 
school  to  the  new  conditions  of  country  life.  He  holds  to 
this  as  the  sheet  anchor,  namely  :  "  The  farmers  can't  get 
something  for  nothing  in  the  way  of  better  schools.  If  they 
would  have  better  schools,  they  must  expend  more  money 
in  a  better  way."    There  is  no  halo  coming. 

We  need  a  general  campaign  for  an  educational  uplift, 
to  increase  the  usefulness  of  the  country  school. 

In  some  states,  it  is  true,  an  effort  is  being  made  "to 
fit"  the  country  school  to  the  new  agriculture.  I  close  this 
chapter  with  a  part  of  the  address  delivered  at  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  first  consolidated  country  school  in  Illinois,  in 
Seward  Township,  Winnebago  County,  January  30,  1904. 
The  address  was  delivered  by  Eugene  Davenport,  Dean  of 
the  Illinois  College  of  Agriculture  and  Director  of  the 
Experiment  Station.  His  subject  was  "The  Consolidated 
Country  School  and  the  New  Agriculture." 

The  consolidated  country  school  is  the  only  plan  proposed  that 
will  keep  intact  the  country  home,  educate  the  child  within  the  envi- 
ronment in  which  he  is  growing  up,  and  make  him  the  intellectual 
equal  of  his  city  cousin.  Any  plan  short  of  this  is  not  only  unjust  to 
the  individual,  but  it  is  disastrous  to  country  life  and  to  sound  ideas 
touching  the  productive  industries  and  tlie  life  of  industrial  people. 
Any  plan  that  secures  thes*  educational  advantages  at  the  expense 
of  the  integrity  of  the  home  cosfj^  more  than  it  comes  to  and  leaves 
the  family  worse  than  it  found  it,  because  it  uprooted  it  out  of  the 
country  without  planting  it  in  the  city,  and  henceforth  it  partakes  of 
the  life  of  neither.  All  this  is  bad  enough  for  the  family  and  the 
individual,  but  the  damage  does  not  end  here. 

There  is  an  industrial  side  to  this  problem  that  is  worth  consider- 
ing. The  "  new  agriculture  "  means  new  conditions  not  only  in  the 
business  but  as  to  the  people  who  follow  it.  The  principles  under- 
lying agricultural  practice  are  coming  to  be  better  known,  and  farming 


THE  NEW  ACiRICULTURE  223 

is  growing  constantly  more  difficult.  The  business  is  no  longer  limited 
to  sowing  and  reaping  and  selling.  Now  things  must  be  done  with  a 
view  not  only  to  economic  production  but  also  to  sustaining  fertility, 
to  the  end  that  the  producing  power  of  land  shall  not  grow  less,  and 
we  one  day  shall  not  find  ourselves  in  the  condition  of  modern  Russia, 
—  on  the  verge  of  starvation  and  in  the  throes  of  poverty,  though 
inhabiting  the  best  lands  on  earth.  Yes,  truly,  agriculture  considered 
from  the  modern  standards  is  growing  more  difficult  and  will  never 
be  less  so,  for  we  do  not  intend  in  this  country  to  trust  the  conserva- 
tion of  fertility,  which  is  our  natural  life,  to  ignorant  and  untrained 
people.  Agriculture  is  no  calling  now  for  the  grossly  incompetent  or 
the  hopelessly  ignorant.  It  will  never  be  better  suited  to  the  man 
of  low  capacity  than  it  is  to-day ;  on  the  contrary,  it  will  constantly 
demand  more  of  him,  and  public  policy  will  encourage  that  demand. 

Accordingly  our  people  must  be  educated,  — educated  not  only  as 
individuals  and  American  citizens,  but  educated  as  farmers,  not  a  few 
of  them,  but  a  lot  of  them ;  not  here  and  there  one  that  has  escaped, 
as  from  bondage  somewhere,  but  whole  communities  of  people,  men 
and  women  together,  bent  not  only  upon  getting  the  most  out  of  our 
lands  but  also  upon  getting  the  most  out  of  country  life,  by  founding 
and  maintaining  homes  wherein  good  men  of  the  future  may  find  a 
place  in  which  to  be  born. 

All  this  can  never  be  done  by  the  present  system  of  weak  and 
isolated  country  schools,  not  even  with  an  agricultural  college  in  con- 
nection; neither  can  it  be  done  indirectly  by  making  use  of  the  city 
schools  for  this  purpose.  City  schools  teach  city  life  and  the  facts 
and  atmosphere  that  go  with  city  life.  If  we  are  to  have  a  healthy 
country  life  and  a  normal  country  people,  we  must  organize  schools 
to  teach  country  life  and  the  facts  of  country  life. 

All  people  should  be  educated  in  two  environments  and  from  two 
standpoints.  One  is  the  world  at  large,  —  general  and  broadening ; 
the  other  is  that  in  which  his  life  has  unfolded  and  his  individuality 
developed,  and  in  which  in  all  likelihood  his  future  will  be  cast.  The 
only  sufficient  reason  for  changing  one's  environment  at  the  school 
age  is  the  certainty  that  the  future  calling  is  to  be  different  from  that 
of  the  family,  and  then  something  of  educational  value  has  been  lost 
if  the  transplanting  has  taken  place  too  early.  It  is  better  not  to  turn 
the  back  upon  the  things  of  childhood  until  we  can  look  out  upon  the 


2  24       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

world  through  the  eyes  of  a  man.  The  consolidated  school  is  the 
only  solution  for  the  educational  necessities  of  country  people. 

This  new  agriculture,  therefore,  demands  three  new  achievements 
in  the  way  of  education.  One  is  a  better  training  in  the  technique  of 
the  profession  in  order  to  make  the  best  farmers  possible  of  the  indi- 
viduals who  occupy  our  lands  ;  the  second  is  that  this  education  shall 
be  secured  without  disrupting  the  country  home  ;  and  the  third  is  that 
when  it  is  over  the  product  shall  be  a  normal  country  child,  to  the 
end  that  if  he  remains  in  the  country  he  will  make  a  good  country- 
man ;  and  that  if  he  later  goes  to  the  city,  he  goes  intelligently  and 
for  a  purpose,  in  which  cas2  he  will  make  a  good  citizen. 

I  hope  now  that  you  will  meet  these  needs  by  doing  the  natural 
thing  ;  and  what  I  mean  is  this,  —  I  hope  that  this  will  not  be  a  city 
school  transplanted  into  a  cornfield.  I  hope  it  will  be  a  country 
school  surrounded  by  all  that  will  make  it  attractive,  —  yes,  beauti- 
ful, and  filled  with  all  that  will  make  it  effective. 

Why  should  this  not  be  a  city  school?  Is  not  a  city  school  as 
good  as  a  country  school?  Yes,  for  city  people;  but  a  city  school 
for  country  people  is  as  far  from  what  is  best  as  would  be  a  country 
school  for  city  people.  It  is  not  that  one  is  better  than  the  other,  but 
it  is  that  they  are  different.  The  city  school  has  been  long  develop- 
ing, and  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  it  has  come  to  meet  fairly  well  the 
conditions  and  needs  of  city  people.  Now  the  conditions  and  needs 
of  country  people  are  not  less  and  they  are  not  greater,  but  tliey  are 
different.  I  would,  therefore,  have  in  such  a  school  a  good  portion  of 
agriculture,  shop  practice,  household  arts,  and  of  science  in  general. 
Why?  Because  these  are  specially  characteristic  of  country  life. 
Some  of  them  are  also  characteristic  of  city  life,  some  of  them  are 
not,  —  the  city  people  will  look  after  that;  but  in  the  meantime  it 
remains  for  us  to  put  into  country  schools  the  things  that  are  charac- 
teristic of  country  life,  —  those  things  that  give  it  character,  flavor, 
distinctness,  —  that  make  the  differences  by  which  we  distinguish  it 
as  country  life. 

To  summarize  this  chapter  without  claiming  that  the  last 
word  has  been  said,  the  following  outline  would  seem  to 
point  the  way  to  a  movement  from  "spasmodic  theorization" 


THE  NEW  AGRICULTURE  225 

to  the  "next  stage  of  the  argument,"  which  is  designed  to 
persuade  country  people  to  provide  ways  and  means  to  fit 
their  schools  for  the  teaching  of  practical  agriculture  : 

1.  School  garden  work. 

2.  A  Farmer  Boys'"  Experiment  Club. 

3.  Educational  excursions. 

4.  Agricultural  College  extension  work. 

5.  Bulletins  and  traveling  libraries. 

6.  Cooperation  of  the  country  school  and  farmers'  institute. 

7.  Discussions  and  illustrated  lectures  at  teachers'  institutes. 

8.  Consolidation  of  country  schools. 

9.  Hard  work  and  plenty  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    FINANCIAL   PHASE    OF    THE    COUNTRY-SCHOOL 
PROBLEM 

There  is  a  country-school  problem. 

Conditions  vary  so  in  different  locahties  that  it  is 
extremely  difficult  to  state  a  general  remedy.  This  much 
is  true,  —  that  the  solution  of  this  important  educational 
problem  does  not  consist  in  abolishing  the  country  school, 
but  rather  in  studying  how  to  increase  the  usefulness  of 
this  very  important  institution.  The  writer  yields  to  no 
one  in  his  belief  in  the  value  of  the  country  school ;  but 
sometimes  when  one  urges  that  the  country  school  keep 
pace  with  progress  along  other  lines,  the  cry  of  "  Icono- 
clast !  "  is  raised  by  those  who  believe  "The  present  is  good 
enough."  Yet  most  of  those  who  advocate  the  "let-alone 
policy"  with  reference  to  the  country  school  do  not  so  act 
with  reference  to  improvement  of  farm  machinery  and  the 
like.  They  want  the  best  there  is  in  a  material  way,  and 
many  of  them  send  their  children  away  to  the  cities  for 
better  educational  advantages.  At  the  same  time,  if  those 
who  must  of  necessity  remain  in  the  country  begin  to  ask 
for  the  union  of  several  weak  small  schools,  and  to  build  up 
a  high  school  in  the  county  for  all,  then  comes  the  criticism 
that  the  country  school  is  being  destroyed.  Or  if  the  agita- 
tion is  started  for  a  better  teacher,  or  to  improve  the  old 
school  building  that  has  stood  for  forty  years,  then  the  cry 

226 


THE  FINANCIAL  PHASE 


227 


is  raised,  "High  taxes,"   "The  country  school  costs  too 
much  as  it  is,"  "  Leave  things  alone,"  etc. 

It  is  seemingly  hard  for  some  people  to  realize  the  change 
that  has  come  over  thousands  of  country  schools  in  the 
United  States  during  the  last  forty  years.  If  you  talk  with 
some  of  these  people  who  always  live  in  the  past  educa- 
tionally, they  will  tell  you  about  the  country  school  of  their 
youth,  with  its  seventy-five  or  eighty  pupils  taught  by  a 
stronsr  teacher  in  everv  sense  of  the  term.    I   remember 


Fig.  107.    A  Type  of  Small  .School  in  Winnebago  County,  Illinois 

such  schools  and  have  no  desire  whatever  to  disparage  their 
work  or  estimate  lightly  their  output.  No  doubt  there  are 
in  existence  to-day  many  of  the  old-time  country  schools 
taught  by  well-educated  teachers,  men  and  women  of  strong 
characters,  and  receiving  a  salary  of  from  seventy-five  to 
one  hundred  dollars  per  month  for  teaching  a  one-room 
country  school.  But  my  observation  leads  me  to  believe 
that  there  are  more  of  another  kind. 

In  looking  over  various  state  educational  reports  of  the 
great  Middle  West,  I  glean  the  following  data.   These  figures 


2  28       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

are  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1904,  and  show  the  enroll- 
ment for  one-room  country  schools  in  Wisconsin  : 

Number  of  schools  with  5  pupils  or  less 34 

"         "         "           "     more  than     5  and  less  than  11...  236 

"       "       10     '•       "       "     16     .     .     .  527 

"       "       15     "       "       "     21      .     .     .  788 

This  gives  a  total  of  1583  small  schools  out  of  a  total  of 
6075  schools  with  one  department. 

Indiana  reports  44  schools  with  an  attendance  of  less 
than  5  pupils,  243  schools  with  less  than  10,  1085  schools 
with  less  than  1 5,  and  2006  schools  with  less  than  20  pupils. 
Missouri  has  705  schools  with  an  average  attendance  of 
less  than  12,  and  2475  schools  with  an  attendance  of  more 
than  12  and  less  than  20. 

Illinois  shows  the  following  with  reference  to  enrollment  : 

Number  of  schools  with  less  than     5  pupils 76 

"       "       "      10       " 525 

"      "      "      '5      " "50 

It  may  be  that  each  one  of  the  small  schools  in  the  above 
states  is  a  good  one,  in  charge  of  a  first-class  teacher  and 
doing  excellent  work, —  but,  after  seven  years  of  experience 
with  country  schools,  I  doubt  it.  A  small  school  at  its  best 
is  expensive,  the  per  capita  cost  both  on  enrollment  and  on 
average  daily  attendance  being  very  high.  But  the  solution 
is  not  to  cheapen  instruction  for  the  pupils  in  the  small 
school  by  hiring  a  poorly  prepared  teacher  willing  to  work 
for  a  minimum  wage.  The  child  in  a  small  country  school 
is  entitled  to  just  as  good  an  educational  opportunity  as 
that  enjoyed  by  the  most  favored  child  attending  the  public 
school,  whether  in  the  city  or  country.  There  is  a  great 
educational  as  well  as  financial  waste  in  many  hundreds  of 


THE  FINANCIAL  PHASE  229 

the  small  schools.  But  economy  in  money  expended  does 
not  necessarily  mean  less  money  expended.  The  country 
people  can  increase  the  usefulness  of  the  country  school  by 
spending  more  money  in  a  more  economical  way. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  dollars-and-cents  aspect  of 
increasing  the  usefulness  of  the  country  schools  is  the  first, 
last,  and  only  phase  that  appeals  to  many  country  people. 
The  question  with  them  is,  How  much  higher  will  the  taxes 
be }  not.  Will  the  proposed  improvement  give  us  a  better 
school  and  better  returns  on  money  expended,  even  if  a 
few  hundred  dollars  more  are  needed  annually  .''  The  people 
and  school  officers  need  to  study  the  financial  phase  of 
present  conditions.  Let  us  not  cheapen  educational  oppor- 
tunity for  the  country  child.  In  our  county  I  have  tried  to 
make  a  careful  analysis  of  the  problem  as  it  is  with  us. 
Other  counties  may  differ  widely  from  Winnebago,  but  at 
any  rate  we  need  more  publicity  regarding  the  present  sit- 
uation. When  we  know  the  facts  in  the  case  we  may  reason 
more  intelligently.  In  my  annual  report  for  1905  I  pre- 
sented an  array  of  statistics  showing  the  cost  of  country 
schools  in  all  the  townships  of  Winnebago  County.  It  is 
enough  for  present  purposes  to  give  the  figures  of  two  town- 
ships, comparing  them  with  those  of  the  city  of  Rockford. 
The  table  on  page  230  will  show  the  method  pursued. 

Now  some  observations  as  to  the  financial  phase  of  the 
problem  may  be  instructive.  While  it  is  true  that  the  con- 
ditions of  one  county  do  not  necessarily  establish  a  gen- 
eral rule,  yet  they  point  to  some  things  common  to  a  great 
many  localities,  if  the  reports  of  state  superintendents  indi- 
cate anything. 

There  are  one  hundred  and  six  one-room  country  schools 
and    nine    graded    schools    in    Winnebago    County,     The 


230 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


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THE  FINANCIAL  PHASE  231 

expenditures  for  all  educational  purposes  by  the  one  hundred 
and  six  one-room  country  schools  show  the  following  with 
reference  to  the  amount  expended  annually  : 

Number  of  country  schools  expending  less  than  ;j!300  ....  39 
Number  of  country  schools  expending  more  than  $300  and  less 

than  5400 51 

Number  of  country  schools  expending  more  than  $400     ...  16 

As  I  have  said  before,  the  small  school  is  expensive,  as 
shown  by  the  high  per  capita  cost  on  both  enrollment  and 
average  daily  attendance.  Again,  the  small  school  need  not 
necessarily  be  a  poor  one.  It  is  possible  to  have  in  each  one 
of  the  small  schools  such  a  teacher  as  State  Superintendent 
Bayliss  describes,  —  one  who  is  capable  of  instructing  in 
an  annual  teachers'  institute  alongside  of  training  teachers 
from  our  state  normal  schools.  This  teacher,  a  woman, 
has  taught  "  the  same  country  school  for  the  last  eight 
or  nine  years  ;  she  has  seven  pupils  enrolled  this  year,  and 
her  board  of  directors  pay  her  sixty  dollars  per  month." 
Superintendent  Bayliss  would  hardly  offer  this  one  instance 
as  indicating  a  general  rule  for  the  kind  of  teachers  in  the 
small  country  schools  of  Illinois.  I  doubt  if  this  is  the  rule 
under  like  conditions  in  other  states.  However  that  may  be, 
such  is  not  the  rule  in  Winnebago  County. 

If  we  are  going  to  increase  the  usefulness  of  the  small 
country  school,  we  must  increase  the  quality  of  the  in- 
struction. This  means  better-trained  teachers  at  salaries 
ranging  from  sixty  to  eighty  dollars  per  month.  Hence 
country  people  can  have  better  schools  if  they  will  expend 
more  money  on  them  and  expend  it  in  a  better  way.  The 
money  question  is  fundamental  in  the  solution  of  the 
country-school  problem. 


2  32       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

It  does  not  seem  that  the  country  children  are  getting  a 
"square  deal"  under  existing  circumstances.  Contrast  the 
annual  expenditures  of  the  one-room  country  schools  of 
Winnebago  County  with  the  pay  of  janitors  in  the  city 
of  Rockford  for  the  same  year.  The  lowest  salary,  three 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  is  paid  to  take  care  of  a  four- 
room  building. 

Salaries  of  School  Janitors,  City  of  Rockford 

Name  of  School  Amount 

Lincoln ^55° 

Hall 590 

Kent 550 

Garrison 445 

Kishwaukee 59° 

Nelson 32° 

Blake 445 

Ellis 320 

High  School 1170 

Henry  Freeman 59° 

Brown 55° 

Montague 445 

Church 550 

Wight 550 

Marsh 3~° 

Haskell 320 

Turner 59° 

As  given  above,  the  number  of  country  schools  expend- 
ing less  than  three  hundred  dollars  per  annum  is  thirty-nine ; 
the  number  expending  more  than  three  hundred  dollars 
but  less  than  four  hundred  dollars  is  fifty-one.  The  reader 
may  say,  "The  above  is  not  true  of  my  county."  I  hope  it 
is  not  ;  but  I  venture  to  say  that  if  an  investigation  were 
made  into  thousands  of  country  schools,  and  the  exact 
figures  given  as  I  have  tried  to  give  them,  we  should  find 


THE  FINANCIAL  PHASE 


233 


a  similar  condition  of  things.  It  is  true  that  the  prophet 
who  says  things  are  all  right  is  the  one  who  will  be  greeted 
with  loud  hosannas  by  the  unthinking  crowd,  —  by  the 
people  who  don't  know  the  actual  situation. 

Now  the  per  capita  expense  in  the  country  schools  of 
Winnebago  County  ranges  from  $6.80  to  $50.26  on  enroll- 
ment, while  on  average  daily  attendance  the  cost  per  child 
ranges  from  $11.62  to  $77.91.  There  arc  forty-eight  coun- 
try schools  with  a  per  capita  cost  of  more  than  $20  on 


Fic,.  loS.    Another  Typical  Country  Schoolhouse 

enrollment,  while  eighty-nine  country  schools  have  a  per 
capita  cost  of  more  than  $20  on  average  daily  attendance. 
There  are  forty-one  country  schools  with  a  per  capita  tax  of 
more  than  $30  on  average  daily  attendance,  and  seventeen 
country  schools  with  a  similar  tax  of  more  than  $40. 

Bear  in  mind  the  most  of  these  country  schools  are  open 
only  eight  months  and  do  not  attempt  any  high-school 
work.  The  per  capita  for  the  city  schools  of  Rockford  for 
the  same  year  is  $18.10  on  enrollment  (same  as  Seward 
Consolidated)  and  $22.59    ^^^  average  daily  attendance. 


234 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


Just  one  item  more  on  school  revenue  in  this  connection. 
Many  country  people  are  afraid  consolidation  will  increase 
the  taxes  to  the  extent  of  possible  bankruptcy,  and  profess 
to  be  really  alarmed  on  this  score.  By  the  statistics  given 
in  my  annual  report  for  1905  (see  page  229),  sixty-three 
country  schools  are  paying  a  higher  per  capita  on  enroll- 
ment, and  fifty-eight  of  the  same  schools  a  higher  per  capita 
on  average  daily  attendance,  than  the  consolidated  district 
is  paying  in  Seward  Township,  not  coimting  tJie  cost  of  a 
new  building  for  the  consolidated  school ;  and  the  omission 
of  the  cost  of  the  new  building  is  legitimate  in  making  this 
comparison,  for  in  total  expenditures  not  a  dollar  is  counted 
for  new  country-school  buildings. 

Better  schools  cost  more  money,  to  be  sure  ;  but  farms 
have  increased  in  value  and  farmers  have  been  receiving 
good  prices  for  their  products. 

It  may  be  urged  that  farmers  cannot  levy  enough  taxes 
on  their  valuation  to  support  better  schools.  There  may  be 
instances  of  this  kind,  but  this  is  not  the  rule.  The  following 
shows  the  tax  rate,  levy,  and  valuation  of  every  school  dis- 
trict in  Winnebago  County  outside  of  the  city  of  Rockford 
for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1904.  Notice  the  inequality 
of  taxation  by  the  single-district  system,  as  is  the  plan  in 
Illinois.  The  school  law  of  Illinois  permits  directors  to  levy 
two  and  one-half  per  cent  per  annum  for  general  educa- 
tional purposes  and  an  additional  two  and  one-half  per  cent 
for  building  purposes.  Thus  a  total  levy  of  five  per  cent  is 
possible,  if  the  necessity  exists,  on  the  assessed  valuation. 
The  "assessed  valuation"  as  given  below  is  the  sum  on 
which  taxes  are  levied,  and  by  the  Illinois  revenue  law  is 
supposed  to  represent  one  fifth  of  the  fair  cash  value  of 
the  property  of  the  district. 


THE   FINANCIAL  PHASE 


235 


Table  of  Valuation,   Rate,  and  Levy  for  Year 
ENDING  June  30,   1904 


No.  OF 

Assessed 

Rate 

Amount 

No.  OF 

Assessed        Ry 

VTE 

Amount 

DiST. 

Valuation 

PER  100 

OF  Levy 

DiST. 

Valuation     pef 

t  100 

OF  Lew 

I 

$29,230 

$1-15 

$335-68 

36 

$22,978        $1 

I  2 

3257.34 

2 

i5<978 

1.94 

309.68 

yi 

22,941           I 

80 

412.92 

3 

104,411 

2.00 

1292.44 

38 

23-755           I 

09 

258.98 

4 

27,876 

1.02 

28432 

39 

24,195           I 

28 

309.68 

5 

22,892 

1-57 

359-45 

40 

34,581 

89 

307-67 

6 

43.308 

•71 

208.94 

41 

46,441 

78 

362.34 

7 

15.277 

1.8s 

282.61 

42 

70,378 

44 

309.51 

8 

28,029 

•55 

114.11 

43 

57,625 

62 

357-26 

9 

94,021 

1.71 

1077.38 

44 

33,081           I 

09 

360.39 

10 

28,149 

1-55 

436.32 

45 

65,743 

47 

194.62 

II 

24,918 

1-45 

361.36 

46 

48,184           I 

39 

632.06 

12 

58,782 

•70 

281.28 

47 

48,564 

64 

310.94 

13 

131.864 

1.96 

1872.00 

48 

45.856 

79 

25$.56 

14 

65,616 

■55 

29934 

49 

41,200 

75 

274.02 

15 

32,211 

.96 

309.21 

50 

40,67 1 

89 

281.39 

16 

20,901 

1.97 

411.77 

51 

45.332 

91 

412.51 

19 

18,463 

1.95 

360.08 

52 

37,333 

69 

23'-47 

20 

1 9,060 

1-35 

257.38 

53 

22,747         I 

25 

220.41 

21 

34,962 

.88 

307.64 

54 

69,557 

56 

294-75 

22 

25,760 

.90 

231-85 

55 

54,582 

66 

240.05 

23 

29,024 

1.06 

307.69 

56 

37,141 

90 

285.25 

24 

24,520 

1.47 

360.50 

57 

73.859 

56 

413-65 

25 

31.317 

1.32 

334.36 

58 

43.325 

60 

259.95 

26 

35.448 
109,683 

.87 
2.30 

247.60 
2420.09 

i;q 

14,887         I 

35 
54 

200.98 
221.13 

27 

61 

66,811 

28 

40,363 

.90 

31515 

62 

32,996 

78 

257.42 

29 

29.388 

.96 

260.25 

63 

63.503 

57 

361.91 

30 

55.064 

•65 

357.91 

64 

38,190 

94 

359.03 

31 

37.180 

.76 

282.59 

65 

35,046         I 

03 

294.72 

32 

32,863 

1.48 

362.88 

66 

79,155 

46 

360.16 

33 

20,718 

1.50 

195-97 

67 

36,308 

74 

268.63 

34 

15.325 

1.69 

258.97 

68 

160,989         1 

72 

2439.37 

35 

37,900 

.68 

169.29 

69 

129,251         2 

08 

246375 

236 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


Table  of  Valuation,  Rate,  and  Levy  for  Year 
ENDING  June  30,  1904  —  continued 


No.  OF 

Assessed 

Rate 

Amount 

No.  OF 

Assessed 

Rate 

Amount 

DlST. 

Valuation 

PER  100 

OF  Levy 

DiST. 

Valuation 

PER  100 

OF  Levy 

70 

%4.J39 

$0.11 

^87.22 

100 

^37,694 

$1.64 

^618.18 

71 

67,200 

.84 

486. 1 9 

lOI 

55.070 

-75 

344-71 

72 

75.065 

-45 

292.81 

102 

42,318 

.98 

414.27 

17, 

33.320 

■n 

256.56 

103 

99,370 

.40 

319-57 

74 

38.399 

1.07 

410.89 

104 

24,781 

1.25 

309.82 

75 

30,717 

.84 

258.01 

105 

35.463 

1. 16 

411-33 

76 

3M94 

.91 

283.89 

106 

22,786 

1.47 

335-95 

77 

26,810 

.96 

257-38 

107 

44,918 

•52 

180.37 

78 

29,620 

1.30 

385.09 

108 

29,195 

1.32 

385-39 

79 

34.650 

1. 19 

412.34 

109 

49,439 

1.08 

406.7 1 

80 

23.815 

1.08 

257-17 

no 

17,539 

1. 17 

307.86 

81 

32.597 

•95 

309-73 

III 

31,882 

1. 12 

244.90 

82, 

19,144 

1-35 

25'^-47 

I  12 

112,544 

2.28 

173814 

83 

41,596 

-52 

216.27 

113 

73.450 

-35 

117.97 

84 

35,092 

.88 

308.78 

114 

78,012 

■ZZ 

163.28 

85 

57.639 

•63 

320.62 

'■5 

37,876 

1.09 

412.89 

86 

246,304 

2.2S 

4608.98 

116 

29.335 

1-23 

360.82 

87 

60,619 

.76 

352.04 

"7 

15,319 

1.22 

186.63 

88 

38.861 

.So 

310.86 

118 

24,074 

.96 

231-13 

89 

30,984 

•83 

257-15 

119 

32,572 

.87 

283.45 

92 

63.142 

•57 

275.87 

120 

24,426 

1.05 

255-43 

93 

58,620 

.88 

467.98 

121 

156,247 

1.83 

2425.10 

96 

44,403 

.82 

248.73 

IConsol- 

97 

136,899 

1.88 

2198.54 

school) 

98 

65.595 

•71 

243.96 

144 

16,279 

.90 

146.52 

99 

54.034 

•38 

161. 13 

202 

27,671 

1.56 

417.48 

The  rate  for  the  city  of  Rockford  is  $1.95  on  a  hundred 
dollars. 

From  the  above  table,  it  will  be  seen  that  out  of  the  106 
country  schools  63  levy  less  than  one  per  cent  for  all 
educational  purposes,  while  94  country  districts  levy  less 


THE  FINANCIAL  PHASE 


237 


than  one  and  one-half  per  cent  annually.  A  table  of  district- 
school  tax  and  levy  of  Ogle  County  (adjoining  Winnebago 
on  the  south),  issued  by  County  Superintendent  Neff,  has 
just  been  received.  Out  of  a  total  of  162  one-room  country 
schools  in  that  county,  30  of  them  levied  less  than  three 
hundred  dollars,  while  1 36  country  schools  levied  four  hun- 
dred dollars  or  less.  The  tax  rate  was  less  than  one  per 
cent  for  97  schools,  while  for  i  55  districts  the  rate  was  less 
than  one  and  one-half  per  cent,  or  $1.50  on  a  hundred 
dollars.  As  far  as  country-school  revenues  are  concerned, 
it  is  fair  to  presume  that  Winnebago  and  Ogle  counties, 
two  of  the  best  counties  in  northern  Illinois,  are  fair  rep- 
resentatives of  that  part  of  the  state.  The  great  bulk  of 
school  revenue  for  Illinois  is  derived  from  local  taxation. 
The  income  from  the  state  tax  amounts  to  only  forty-three 
cents  for  each  person  under  twenty-one  years  old  in  Win- 
nebago County,  —  not  a  very  great  sum. 


Highest  and  Lowest  Salary  per  Month  for  Country 
School-Teachers  in  Winnebago  County,  1896-1905 


Highest  Salary 

Lowest  Salary- 

Year 

M  A  LE 

Female 

Year 

Male 

Female 

1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
19CO 
1901 
1902 

1903 
1904 

1905 

$42.50 
45.00 
40.00 
40.00 
44.00 
46.00 
41.00 
45.00 
45.00 
45.00 

342.50 
40.00 
40.00 
40.00 
38-50 
40.00 
40.00 
40.  CO 

40.00 

45.00 

! 

1896 

1897 
1S98 
1899 
1900 
1 90 1 
1902 
1903 
1904 
.  1905 

$20.00 
^3.00 
2  2. CO 
25.00 
25.00 
25.00 
25.00 
25.00 
25.00 
25.00 

$18.00 
iS.oo 
20.00 
20.00 
20.00 
20.00 
20.00 
20.00 
20.00 
22.50 

238  AMONG  COUI^TRY  SCHOOLS 

Contrast  the  annual  wage  of  the  country  school-teachers 

of  Winnebago  County  with  the  annual  wage  of  the  janitors 

of  the  city  of  Rockford,  as  given  in  the  table  on  page  232. 

The  number  of  small  country  schools  inWinnebago  County, 

as  given  by  the  first  table  in  this  chapter,  is  as  follows  : 

Number  of  schools  enrolling    5  pupils  or  less 2 

10      "        "     "  9 

15      "       "     "  43 

"          "         "             "          20      "       "     "  69 

The  real  basis  of  comparison  as  to  cost  of  small  schools 
and  consolidated  schools  is  the  average  daily  attendance. 
The  unit  is  the  day's  work.  On  the  basis  of  average  daily 
attendance  the  number  of  small  schools,  as  given  above, 
shows  the  following  changes  : 

Number  of  schools  with  average  daily  attendance  of    5  or  less       6 
"        "         "         "  "  "  "  10  "     "        41 

"        "         "         "  "  "  "  15  "     "        83 

>t        (t         II         11  II  "  "  20  "     "        92 

And  yet,  after  all  that  has  been  said  in  this  chapter, 
some  people  wonder  why  I  favor  consolidation  of  country 
schools.  I  insist,  however,  that  the  consolidated  school 
remain  a  country  school  and  not  become  a  city  school. 
This  is  no  reflection  whatever  upon  the  city  school. 

I  have  purposely  dwelt  upon  the  financial  phase  of  the 
country-school  problem,  for  it  seems  to  me  to  be  funda- 
mental. Some  would  emphasize  the  poor  teaching  done  in 
many  country  schools  and  the  lack  of  eflficient  supervision. 
These  are  very  important  things.  It  is  true  that  there  are 
country  school-teachers  who  do  not  earn  the  wages  they 
now  receive,  but  this  can  be  said  truthfully  of  other  people. 
We  shall  have  better  teaching  for  the  country  child  when 


THE  FINANCIAL  PHASE 


239 


the  country  people  learn  to  appreciate  what  good  teaching 
is.  Then  they  will  demand  better  teachers,  and,  what  is  of 
more  importance  just  now,  will  be  willing  to  pay  a  salary 
sufficiently  generous  to  warrant  a  person's  spending  two  or 
three  years  in  preparation  at  a  good  normal  school. 

What  is  the  plain  duty  of  the  country  people }  The 
country  child  is  entitled  to  just  as  good  educational  advan- 
tages as  those  enjoyed  by  the  most  favored  city  child 
attending  the  American  public  school ;  and  to  have  better 
schools  for  the  country  child,  to  increase  the  usefulness  of 
the  country  school,  and  to  meet  the  new  conditions  of  coun- 
try life,  i/ic  coHJitry  people  nuist  not  cheapen  education,  but 
more  money  must  be  expended  in  a  more  economical  luay. 


CHAPTER  XII 

CONSOLIDATION 

In  July,  1897,  I  attended  the  meeting  of  the  National 
Educational  Association  at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  and 
there  secured  a  copy  of  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of 
Twelve  on  Country  Schools.     It  was  there  I   first  heard 


Fig.  109.    The  First  Consolidated  School  Building  in  Illinois  :  Seward 
Township,  Winnebago  County 

about  consolidation,  or  centralization,  of  country  schools.  It 
seemed  to  me  then  to  be  a  proper  and  sane  solution  of  the 
country-school  problem.  I  attended  a  country  school  when 
a  boy  and  quit  the  district  school  when  about  sixteen  years 

240 


Fig.  iio.    The  Buildings  abandoned  for  the  ConsoHdated  School 


241 


242  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

old  for  the  same  reason  that  hundreds  of  country  boys  are 
now  quitting  it.  Now,  after  seven  years'  work  as  County 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  I  see  no  reason  to  change  the 
opinion  I  formed  at  the  Milwaukee  meeting  in  1897. 
Since  then  I  have  been  privileged  to  visit  the  central- 
ized schools  of  northeastern  Ohio.  What  I  saw  there  but 
confirmed  my  conclusions  formerly  made,  and  after  five 
years  of  educational  effort  we  have  succeeded  in  starting 
a  consolidated  school  in  Winnebago  County,  the  first  of 
its  kind  in  Illinois. 

I  hope  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  book  have  shown 
that  consolidation  is  not  the  only  thing  to  be  considered 
with  reference  to  increasing  the  usefulness  of  the  country 
school.  It  is  only  one  phase  of  the  work  in  Winnebago 
County,  and  a  very  important  one,  too,  in  view  of  the  possi- 
bilities ;  but  we  have  not  been  content  to  wait  till  consoli- 
dation, in  its  own  good  time,  should  come  and  settle  all  our 
troubles.  It  will  never  do  that.  So  in  the  meantime  we 
organized  the  outdoor  and  indoor  art  movements,  —  that  is, 
beautifying  school  grounds  and  school  gardens,  decorating 
the  schoolroom,  instituting  traveling  libraries,  boys'  and 
girls'  clubs,  educational  excursions,  and  the  like,  in  the  hope 
of  changing  the  attitude  of  the  country  people  with  refer- 
ence to  the  district  school  and  leading  them  to  see  that 
the  consolidated  coimtry  school,  in  the  true  significance  of 
that  term,  is  the  consummation  of  our  efforts. 

Consolidation,  like  other  good  movements,  must  pass 
through  ridicule,  reproach,  and  misrepresentation.  At  first 
the  attitude  of  a  great  many  country  people  is  that  of 
hostility.  Innumerable,  and  to  them  insurmountable,  objec- 
tions are  given  why  consolidation  "  will  never  work  with  us." 
But  time  and  reflection  change  the  opinion  of  many.    The 


CONSOLIDATION  243 

thing  to  do  is  to  sow  the  seed,  to  inform  the  country  peo- 
ple thoroughly  as  to  the  present  condition  of  the  country 
school  in  all  its  relations,  to  inform  them  as  to  what  con- 
sohdation  really  is,  and  then  let  them  think  the  matter  out 
for  themselves.  In  this  educational  campaign,  which  may 
extend  over  five  years,  as  was  the  case  with  us  in  Seward 
Township,  it  must  be  the  constant  aim  to  reach  the  farmer 
on  his  own  ground.  That  which  will  appeal  to  the  school- 
man from  a  pedagogical  or  some  scholastic  point  of  view 
ofttimes  has  no  weight  with  the  countryman.  If  you  ask 
me  how  to  do  this,  my  reply  is,  "  I  don't  know."  Local 
conditions  must  be  studied. 

I  am  not  in  favor  of  consolidation  if  the  consolidated 
school  is  to  be  an  imitation  of  a  city  school,  or  if  it  is 
secured  by  telling  the  farmers  that  it  will  reduce  expenses. 
A  great  many  of  the  country  schools  are  too  cheap  now; 
that  is  the  matter  with  them.  So  far  as  I  know,  consoli- 
dation will  lessen  the  per  capita  co.st  for  education  and 
remove  financial  waste  in  the  case  of  the  expensive  small 
school.  It  is  economy,  however,  for  the  country  people 
to  expend  more  money  in  a  better  way,  that  will  insure 
greater  returns  to  more  children,  and  it  may  be  that  the 
total  school  tax  in  time  will  decrease  for  the  township. 
Let  us  not  cheapen  educational  opportunity  for  the  coun- 
try child. 

The  chairman  of  the  committee  that  published  the  report 
given  at  the  Milwaukee  meeting  was  Honorable  Henry 
Sabin  of  Iowa.  Nearly  six  years  later  I  received  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  him.  It  is  given  here  because  of  the  sound 
judgment  and  sterling  worth  of  the  one  who  wrote  it  ;  also 
because  it  expresses  so  well  what  I  had  been  advocating 
before  its  receipt. 


244 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


Des  Moines,  Iowa,  February  i6,  1903 
Superintendent  O.  J.  Kern,  Rockford,  Illinois 

My  dear  Mr.  Kern :  I  am  greatly  pleased  with  the  tone  of  your 
articles  in  the  School  News.  You  seem  to  have  gotten  the  idea  that 
education  is  not  entirely  derived  from  books.  I  wish  you  success 
in  working  out  your  plans  for  better  surroundings  for  the  country 
schools,  for  more  tasteful  rooms,  for  well-cared-for  school  grounds, 
for  school  gardens,  and  for  better  teachers.  It  seems  to  me  that  in 
our  attempt  to  consolidate  country  schools  we  are  giving  altogether 
too  much  prominence  to  the  intellectual  work.  We  are  holding  out 
the  idea  continually  that  scholars  will  make  greater  advancement  in 
their  books  if  they  can  be  brought  to  one  large  building  and  put 
through  a  graded  course.  This  to  me  is  the  one  great  objection  to 
consolidation.  If  we  ever  have  time  to  do  anything  for  the  country 
districts,  the  first  step  must  be  to  separate  them  from  city  schools, 
to  give  them  a  course  of  instruction  especially  adapted  to  country 
life,  and  to  place  in  them  teachers  who  are  capable  of  giving  that 
kind  of  instruction.    As  far  as  I  know,  there  is  not  a  normal  school 


Fig.  III.    Transportation  in  Indiana 

in  the  land  making  any  attempts  to  supply  teachers  for  country 
schools.  If  there  is  such  a  school,  I  should  like  to  know  where  it  is. 
In  my  humble  opinion  the  time  has  not  yet  come  when  we  can 
dispense  with  the  country  schools.  I  can  see  great  advantages  in 
gathering  the  children  from  a  few  small  districts  into  one  large 
school,  but  with  that  change   there  should  be   the  demand  for  at 


CONSOLIDATION 


245 


least  three  acres  of  school  gardens  and  the  attempt  to  make  covmtry 
life  not  only  endurable  but  even  attractive. 

I  cannot  find  this  idea  anywhere,  except  in  Winnebago  County, 
and  the  want  of  it  I  look  upon  as  one  of  the  great  mistakes  that  we 
are  making.  If  in  every  township  there  could  be  two  or  three  schools 
of  that  kind,  sometliing  like  experiment  stations,  where  children  could 


Fig.  112.    Transportation  in  Indiana 


be  taught  the  rudiments  of  agriculture  and  the  attractions  of  farm 
life,  then  there  might  be  one  school  in  the  center  of  the  township, 
something  more  in  the  nature  of  a  high  school :  but  even  the  object 
of  that  high  school  should  not  be  to  fit  the  child  for  college  or  the 
university,  but  to  carry  him  farther  along  the  same  line  in  which  he 
commences  in  the  lower  schools. 

I  am  watching  this  matter  of  consolidation  with  a  great  deal  of 
interest  and,  I  confess,  with  some  alarm.  We  never  ought,  in  my 
opinion,  to  say  or  believe  that  consolidation  will  lessen  the  expense. 
If  that  is  true,  then  I  am  against  consolidation.  What  we  need  is  to 
spend  more  money  on  our  education,  and  I  am  fully  in  accord  with 
President  Eliot  in  this  respect. 

Perhaps  this  does  not  interest  you  particularly,  and  yet  I  think  it 
will  because  of  what  I  have  seen  of  your  articles  in  the  papers.  I  am 
greatly  interested  in  the  country-school  problem,  but  I  want  it  to  take 
the  right  direction.  Simply  to  bring  the  country  children  into  the 
city  and  make  the  country  school  an  annex  of  the  city  school  will  be 
productive  of  evil  and  will  intensify  citv  life  and  degrade  country  life. 


Yours  verv  trulv, 


Hkxrv  Sahix 


246 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


I  think  all  friends  of  the  country  school  will  agree  that 
consolidation  will  lessen  the  per  capita  cost  of  education  for 
small  schools,  but  I  agree  with  Mr.  Sabin  that  we  should  not 
try  to  advance  consolidation  on  the  plea  of  less  total  cost  to 
the  territory  consolidated.  Country  people  as  a  whole,  so  far 
as  I  know,  are  not  spending  enough  money  in  the  right  ivay 
for  the  education  of  country  children.  When  farmers  now 
in  Winnebago  County  are  offering  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
dollars  per  month  for  hired  help  on  the  farm,  while  teachers' 


Fig.  113.    Going  Home  from  School  in  Illinois:  Temperature 
Twelve  Degrees  below  Zero 

salaries  are  as  low  as  they  are,  it  would  seem  that  there  is 
much  truth  in  President  Eliot's  contention. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  reader  would  like  to  know  what 
consolidation  is  and  to  have  a  brief  history  of  its  progress. 

Centralization  or  consolidation  of  country  schools  does 
not  necessarily  mean  that  all  the  schools  of  a  township 
must  be  combined  into  one  school  located  at  the  geograph- 
ical center  of  the  township.  There  may  be  a  union  of  three 
or  four  district  schools,  making  a  two-room  graded  school, 
and  there  may  be  two  of  such  schools  in  a  single  township ; 


CONSOLIDATION 


247 


or  small  schools  may  be  centralized  with  an  established 
graded  school  where  conditions  are  favorable.  Complete 
centralization,  of  course,  means  the  union  of  all  the  schools 
of  a  township  into  one  graded  school,  where  conditions  are 
favorable  for  such  an  arrangement.  There  may  be  a  con- 
solidation of  the  schools  of  two  or  three  townships,  just  as 
there  are  now  union  districts. 

Consolidation  of  country  schools  and  the  transportation 
of  children  are  now  going  on  in  the  states  of  Connecticut, 
Florida,   Indiana,    Illinois,   Iowa,   Kansas,   Nebraska,    New 


Fig.  114.    The  New  Way  in  Ohio 

Hampshire,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Wisconsin,  Vermont, 
South  Dakota,  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  North 
Dakota,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  California.  These 
states  represent  over  half  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States. 

To  Massachusetts  belongs  the  honor  of  first  developing 
the  district  system,  and  also  the  leadership  in  consolidation 
of  school  districts.  By  the  act  of  1869,  any  town  in  Mas- 
sachusetts was  authorized  to  raise  money  by  taxation  to 
enable  the  school  committee,  at  its  discretion,  to  provide 
for  the  conveyance  of  pupils  to  and  from  the  public  schools 
at  public  cost.  Probably  the  fir.st  general  statement  in  print 
of  the  results  of  the  law  of  1869  was  a  pamphlet  prepared 


248 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


by  Superintendent  W.  L.  Eaton,  of  Concord,  for  the  Massa- 
chusetts pubHc-school  exhibit  at  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition.    Superintendent  Eaton  says  in  part  : 

At  first  the  authority  was  used  mainly  to  convey  pupils  to  the  high 
school.  Within  a  few  years,  however,  many  communities  have  used 
this  authority  to  increase  the  educational  advantages  of  the  children, 
constantly  decreasing  in  numbers,  who  live  in  districts  at  a  distance 
from  the  center  of  population.  This  has  been  accomplished  by 
closing  many  district  schools  and  transporting,  at  public  expense, 
their  pupils  to  the  neighboring  district  schools  or  to  the  village. 

The  progress  of  consolidation  and  the  amount  of  money 
paid  for  transportation  in  Massachusetts  is  well  set  forth 
in  the  table  of  expenditures  for  transportation  published  by 
the  State  Board  of  Education  : 


Year 


Amount 
Expended 


1888-1889 ^22,118.38 

1889-1890 24,145.12 

1 890-1 89 1 30,648.68 

1891-1892 38,726.07 

1892-1893 50.590-4I 

1893-1894 63,617.68 

1894-1895 76,608.29 


Year  Amount 

Jl,XPENDED 

1895-1896 ;^9i,i36.ii 

I896-I897 105,317.13 

I897-I898 123,032.41 

I898-I899 127,402.22 

I899-I900 141,753.84 

I900-I90I 151,773.47 


It  would  seem  that  the  above  amounts  of  public  funds 
expended  for  transportation  is  money  well  spent,  if  one 
may  judge  from  the  following  extract  from  the  report  of 
the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education  prepared  by  State 
Agent  G.  T.  Fletcher  : 

Whatever  advantages  a  carefully  graded  system  of  schools,  occu- 
pying a  well-ventilated  and  well-cared-for  schoolhouse,  taught  bv  a 
body  of  mtelligent  and  earnest  teachers,  cooperating  to  secure  the 
best  discipline  within  and  without  the  schoolroom,  has  over  a  mixed 


CONSOLIDATIOxN 


!49 


country  school,  such  advantages  are  shared  alike  by  all  tlie  inhabit- 
ants of  this  town.  All  are  alike  interested  in  all  real  progress  in 
methods  of  discipline  and  instruction  and  in  improved  appliances  to 
aid  instruction.  Superintendents  become  more  efficient.  The  intro- 
duction of  new  subjects  of  study  and  of  drawing  and  music  and 
nature  study  is  made  possible  and  easy.  Appliances  of  all  kinds  and 
books  of  reference  can  be  provided  more  extensively  and  at  less  cost. 
The  history  of  this  movement  in  Concord  conclusively  shows  that  the 
success  of  the  plan  was  due  to  its  intrinsic  merit,  acting  upon  the 
minds  of  an  enlightened  people  desirous  of  furthering  the  true  educa- 
tional interests  of  their  children. 

From  Massachusetts  the  movement  spread  through  all 
the  rest  of  New  England.  An  idea  of  the  significance  and 
extent  of  consolidation  in  the  great  Middle  West  may  be 
obtained  from  the  reports  of  the  State  Superintendents  of 
Public  Instruction  of  the  states  of  Indiana,  Iowa,  Illinois, 
Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Kansas,  Ohio,  and  Nebraska. 

Indiana  reports  as  follows  for  the  entire  state  : 

Number  of  schools  abandoned 783 

Number  of  wagons  used  in  transporting  children  .     .     .  378 

Number  of  children  transported 539^ 

Cost  per  day  of  transportation  of  pupils $603.00 

Cost  per  wagon  per  day  for  transportation  of  pupils  .     .  1.60 

While  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition,  in  1904,  I  tried  to 
make  a  study  of  country-school  improvement  as  shown  in 
the  various  state  exhibits  in  the  Palace  of  Education.  I 
was  much  impressed  with  the  Indiana  exhibit  on  consoli- 
dation. On  my  return  home  I  wrote  to  various  county 
superintendents  for  data  and  photographs,  which  I  used  in 
my  1904  yearbook  for  distribution  into  every  country  home 
in  my  own  county.  Part  of  the  exhibit  of  Lagrange  County, 
Indiana,  is  reproduced  here,  as  follows  : 


250 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


Financial  Statement  showing  Saving  from  Consolida- 
tion IN  Lagrange  County,   Indiana 


School 

Year  i 903-1 904 

Townships 

Schools 
Aban- 

BONED 

Additional 
Teachers 
AT  Points 
of  Con- 
solidation 

Saving  in 
Number  of 
Teachers 

Saving  in 
Salaries 

Saving 
IN  Fuel 

AND 

Repairs 

Gross 
Reduction 

Bloomfield   . 

4 

0 

4 

^1,374-40 

$300.00 

$1,674.40 

Clay    .     .     . 

4 

0 

4 

1,374-40 

320.00 

1,694.40 

Greenfield    . 

5 

I 

4 

1,374-40 

300.00 

1,674.40 

Johnson  .     . 

5 

I 

4 

1,374-40 

260.00 

1,634.40 

Lima  .     .     . 

3 

0 

3 

1,030.80 

240.00 

1,270.80 

Milford    .     . 

7 

2 

5 

1,718.00 

280.00 

1,998.00 

Springfield   . 

5 

2 

3 

1,030.80 

240.00 

1,270.80 

Van  Buren   . 

5 

I 

4 

1,374.40 

320.00 

1,694.40 

Totals .     . 

38 

7 

31 

$10,651.60 

$2260.00 

$12,911.60 

From  the  above  deduct  the  following  additional  expenses 
incurred  in  transportation  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
pupils  in  twenty-nine  hacks  to  fourteen  different  schools. 
The  difference,  ^6734.74,  is  the  net  saving  by  consolidation. 


Townships 

Number 
of  Hacks 

Number 
OF  Pupils 
Conveyed 

Cost  of  all 
Transporta- 
tion FOR  Year 

Net  Gains 

Bloomfield 

Clay 

Greenfield 

Johnson  

Lima 

Milford 

Springfield 

Van  Buren 

4 
4 
3 
3 
2 
6 
4 
3 

7i 
46 

35 

51 

30 

117 

43 
2>?, 

$1017.00 
712.08 
646.00 

517-50 
583.00 
1261.48 
873.00 
566.80 

$657.40 

982.32 

1028.40 

1 1 16.90 

687.80 

736-52 

397.80 

1127.60 

Totals !       29 

428 

$6176.86 

^6734.74 

CONSOLIDATION  251 

From  this  it  appears  that  the  transportation  of  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty-eight  children  made  possible  the  closing 
of  thirty-eight  schools,  a  reduction  of  twenty-four  teachers, 
and  a  net  saving  of  $6734.74. 

Educational  Statement 

The  following  important  facts  are  given  with  reference 
to  service  rendered  in  transportation  : 

1.  The  drivers  carry  watches  and  consult  them  while  on  the  route. 

2.  Each  driver  keeps  the  time  of  the  consolidated  school,  gener- 
ally standard. 

3.  The  rate  of  speed  while  on  the  route  averages  five  miles  per 
hour  for  the  year. 

4.  The  time  of  arrival  varies  from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes  prior  to 
the  opening  of  the  schools. 

5.  The  more  remote  pupils  ride  about  five  miles,  and  sixty  per 
cent  ride  three  miles  or  less. 

6.  Children  are  kept  comfortable  by  stoves,  patent  heaters, 
blankets,  and  soapstones. 

7.  The  greatest  advantage  to  the  service  is  township  ownership 
of  hacks  and  the  improvement  of  roads. 

8.  The  drivers  exercise  due  responsibility  in  promptly  and  safely 
conveying  the  children  to  school  and  returning  them  to  their  homes; 
they  also,  by  contract,  prohibit  questionable  language,  undue  famil- 
iarity, and  boisterous  conduct  in  or  about  the  hacks. 

9.  Eighty-five  per  cent  of  the  patrons  have  reported  the  consoli- 
dated school  as  their  preference  in  comparison  with  the  "  old  way." 

10.  Decreased  enumerations  in  eight  of  our  eleven  townships 
gave  the  system  its  initiative,  and  the  better  instruction  and  educa- 
tional encouragement  to  the  great  majority  of  the  conveyed  pupils 
have  strengthened  the  services  of  the  schools  and  enhanced  the  local 
educational  spirit. 

In  October,  1900,  in  company  with  State  Superintend- 
ent Alfred  Bayliss  and  Mr.  John  Black,  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Education  of  the  Winnebago  County  Board 


252 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


of  Supervisors,  I  visited  the  centralized  schools  in  Lake, 
Ashtabula,  Trumbull,  and  Geauga  counties,  in  north- 
eastern Ohio.  In  December  of  that  same  year  I  published 
an  illustrated  report  of  that  visit.  This  report  has  been 
reprinted  in  part  or  entire  by  various  school  journals  and 
newspapers  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  was  also 
reproduced  entire,  with  illustrations,  in  the  report  of  the 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Education. 

A  small  part  of  the  account  of  our  visit  is  here  given. 


.  .  .  Madison  Township,  Lake  County,  presents  an  excel- 
lent illustration  of  what  may  be  called  partial  centralization, 
that  is,  a  grouping  of  two,  three,  or  four  schools  into  one 
without  attempting  to  bring  all  the  schools  to  the  geograph- 
ical center  of  the  township.    The  latter  method  would  not 


Fig.  115.    A  Centralized  Country-School  Building,  Green  Township, 
Trumbull  County,  Ohio 

be  practicable  because  of  the  shape  of  Madison  Township. 
It  is  one  of  the 'townships  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie 
and  IS  nine  miles  long  by  five  miles  wide.    Most  of  the 


CONSOLIDATION 


253 


townships  of  the  Western  Reserve  are  five  miles  square, 
while  in  other  portions  of  the  state,  where  centralization  is 
successful,  they  are  even  larger  than  six  miles  square. 

Centralization  in  Madison  Township  has  been  in  successful 
operation  since  1896.    We  visited  the  schools  at  Unionville 


Fig.  116.    School  Building  at  Kingsville,  Ohio,  where  Centraliza- 
tion of  Schools  began  in  1892 

and  North  Madison,  and  Superintendent  J.  R.  Adams,  prin- 
cipal of  the  Unionville  school  and  superintendent  of  Madison 
Township  during  the  months  of  December,  1901,  and  Janu- 
ary, 1902,  sent  me  the  following  facts  and  illustrations: 

1.  They  have  now  only  three  one-teacher  schools  in  the  township. 

2.  Since  centralizing  the  per  cent  of  enrollment  of  children  of 
school  age,  between  six  and  twenty-one,  has  increased  from  sixty  per 
cent  in  1894  to  eighty-six  per  cent  in  190 1.    ' 

3.  For  the  year  ending  June,  1961,  twenty  pupils  were  taking  high- 
school  studies.  (This  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  some  Illinois 
townships.) 

4.  The  total  cost  for  the  township  for  educational  expenses  in 
1896  was  $7555  ;  for  1901,  $7243. 

5.  The  cost  of  transportation  in  1896  was  $332  :  for  1901,  $1618. 

6.  The  incidental  expenses  for  the  township  in  1896  were  $2509; 
for  1 90 1.  $902. 


2  54       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

7.  The  total  enrollment  in  1896  for  the  township  was  three  hundred 
and  ninety  ;  for  190 1,  four  hundred  and  fourteen. 

8.  The  per  capita  cost  for  education  for  the  township,  based  on  total 
enrollment  for  the  year,  was  $19.36  for  1896,  and  $17.50  for  1901. 

We  next  visited  Kingsville  in  Ashtabula  County, 
four  hundred  and  one  miles  east  of  Chicago.  This  was 
our  farthest  point  east.  Kingsville  is  a  small  village  with 
a  township  high  school.  To  the  school  are  brought  all  the 
children  of  the  township,  with  the  exception  of  two  dis- 
tricts. Four  wagons  are  used  at  a  cost  of  twenty,  twenty- 
four,  twenty-five,  and  twenty-eight  dollars  per  month 
respectively,  for  a  month  of  twenty  days.  The  school  year 
is  nine  months.  Five  teachers  are  employed  in  the  build- 
ing. The  testimony  of  the  principal  of  the  school,  the 
town  clerk,  and  Mr.  Kinneer,  of  the  Board  of  Education, 
was  that  there  was  an  actual  saving  in  the  total  cost  to 
the  township  under  the  new  plan  ;  and  while  money  was 
expended  for  transportation  of  pupils,  it  was  more  than 
saved  in  the  smaller  number  of  schools  operated ;  and  as  to 
the  increased  efficiency  of  the  new  centralized  school  over 
the  scattered  schools,  that  was  beyond  a  question  of  doubt. 
It  was  here  that  the  Ohio  plan  of  centralization  had  its 
origin  in  1892.  The  erection  of  a  new  building  in  one  of 
the  districts  of  Kingsville  Township  brought  up  the  ques- 
tion whether  or  not  it  would  be  better  to  abandon  the 
school  in  that  district  and  take  the  children  to  the  village 
school  at  the  general  expense.  In  this  first  case  of  consoli- 
dation in  Ohio  the  schools  were  centralized  at  the  village 
school,  a  village  situated  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
railroad.  The  results,  educationally,  in  the  small  districts 
were  far  from  satisfactory.  In  order  to  consolidate  and 
transport  children  at  public  expense  special  legislation  was 


CONSOLIDATION  255 

necessary,  and  so  the  Ohio  legislature  passed  the  following 
bill,  April  17,  1894  : 

Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Ohio  that 
any  Board  of  Education  in  any  township  which  by  the  census  of  1890 
had  a  population  not  less  than  seventeen  hundred  and  ten  or  more 
than  seventeen  hundred  and  fifteen;  of  any  county  which  by  the 
same  census  had  not  less  than  forty-three  thousand  six  hundred  and 
fifty,  nor  more  than  forty-three  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty  inhabit- 
ants, may,  at  their  discretion,  appropriate  funds  derived  from  the 
school  tax  levy  of  said  township  for  the  conveyance  of  pupils  in  sub- 
districts  from  their  homes  to  the  high-school  building  of  such  town- 
ship ;  provided  such  appropriation  for  any  subdistrict  shall  not 
exceed  the  amount  necessary,  in  the  judgment  of  the  board,  for  the 
maintenance  of  a  teacher  in  such  subdistrict  for  the  same  period 
of  time. 

The  Kingsville  plan  proved  such  a  success  that  on  April 
27,  1896,  the  Ohio  legislature  passed  a  bill  for  the  relief 
of  the  counties  of  Stark,  Ashtabula,  and  Portage,  which 
provided  that  the  Board  of  Education  of  any  township  of 
those  counties  may, 

when  in  its  opinion  it  will  be  for  the  best  interest  of  the  pupils  in 
any  subdistrict,  suspend  the  school  in  such  subdistrict  and  provide 
for  the  conveyance  of  said  pupils  to  such  other  district  or  districts  as 
may  be  convenient  for  them  ;  the  cost  of  such  conveyance  to  be  paid 
out  of  the  contingent  fund  of  said  district ;  provided  the  board  of 
any  special  school  district  in  any  county  mentioned  above  may  pro- 
vide for  the  conveyance  of  pupils  out  of  the  contingent  funds,  the 
same  as  townships  aforesaid. 

Since  then  a  general  law  has  been  enacted,  permitting 
the  people  of  any  township  at  the  annual  town  election  to 
vote  yes  or  no  on  the  proposition  to  centraHze  the  schools 
of  that  township,  —  that  is,  to  abandon  the  small  districts 
and  transport  the  children  at  public  expense  to  the  central 
school.     Such,  in  brief,  is  the  history  of  the  legislation. 


256 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


.  .  .  But  we  wished  to  find  centralized  schools  in  a  purely 
country  township,  where  there  was  no   village  or  village 


E 


E 


R 


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't 

I       DEFIANCE      I    HENRY 


PAULOINQ  *" 


WOOD       I      SANDUSKY     ,  E8 


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'     LORAIN     "1  TbIT*"*'**,  ■•• 

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|<  ^A  •'»  1  P0RTAGE1 

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r  Vi..^  I    mardinV-^ — *■ T   "\  i     r-i y r-'  "-,         ^ 

I  '■ 1  I  ■"  !       !  I  1    CARROLL   '"""-A 

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('Centralized  schools  marked. _• 
I  Halt'  of  siibdistrict  schools 

suspended * 

LAWRENC^.yJOne  or  two  schools  suspend- 
ed  ■ 


Fig.  117.    A  Map  of  Ohio  showing  Centralized  Schools,  1905 

school,  —  a  place  where  country  life  was  being  preserved. 
We  went  thirty-five  miles  south  of  Ashtabula  and  visited 
Gustavus  and  Green  townships  in  Trumbull  County.    The 


CONSOLIDATION  257 

first  place  visited  was  Gustavus.  This  township  is  exactly 
five  miles  square,  as  are  all  the  townships  of  the  Western 
Reserve,  with  the  exception  of  those  along  the  shore  of  Lake 
Erie.  In  Gustavus  Township  the  townhall  is  situated  exactly 
in  the  center  of  the  township,  as  is  the  case  in  Green  Town- 
ship. Here  was  a  church,  the  post  office,  a  country  store, 
and  a  few  houses. 

I  had  a  picture  of  the  centralized  school  of  Gustavus 
Township  and  was  anxious  to  see  the  real  thing.  We  saw 
it,  and  all  was  as  represented.  The  school  building  is 
located  in  the  center  of  the  township.  The  school  has 
been  in  operation  two  years.  It  is  a  four-room  school,  hav- 
ing a  principal  and  three  assistants.  All  the  children  of 
the  township  are  brought  to  this  central  school,  and  nine 
wagons  are  employed  in  the  transportation. 

The  wagons  are  provided  with  curtains,  lap  robes,  soap- 
stones,  etc.,  for  severe  weather.  The  Board  of  Education 
exercises  as  much  care  in  the  selection  of  drivers  as  of 
teachers.  The  contract  for  each  route  is  let  out  to  the 
lowest  responsible  bidder,  who  is  under  bond  to  fulfill  his 
obligations.  The  drivers  are  required  to  have  the  children 
on  the  school  grounds  at  8.45  a.m.,  which  does  away  with 
tardiness,  and  to  leave  for  home  at  3.45  p.m.  The  wagons 
call  at  every  farmhouse  where  there  are  school  children, 
the  children  stepping  into  them  at  the  roadside  and  being 
set  down  upon  the  school  grounds.  There  is  no  tramping 
through  snow  and  mud,  and  the  attendance  is  much  in- 
creased and  far  more  regular.  With  the  children  under 
the  control  of  responsible  drivers,  there  is  no  opportunity 
for  vicious  conversation  or  the  terrorizing  of  the  little  ones 
by  some  bully  as  they  trudge  homeward  through  the  snow 
and  mud  from  the  district  school. 


258 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


While  we  were  at  the  Gustavus  school  the  prin- 
cipal advised  us  to  drive  five  miles  to  the  west  into  Green 
Township,  where  the  people  had  centralized  and  put  up 
a  fine  new  brick  building  at  a  cost  of  over  six  thousand 
dollars.  .  The  people  of  Green  Township  had  watched  the 


Central  School 
Abandoned  Schools 
Transportation  Routes 


Fig.  118.    A  Map  of  Wayne  Township,  Clinton  County,  Oliio,  1905 

school  in  Gustavus  Township  for  two  years,  and  believed  so 
thoroughly  in  the  new  plan  that  at  the  last  April  election 
they  voted  to  centralize  and  bond  the  township  for  a  long 
term  to  erect  a  new  building.  The  vote  was  overwhelm- 
ingly in  favor  of  the  new  school.  We  drove  west  to  the 
center  of  Green  Township,  which  is  five  miles  square.    This 


CONSOLIDATION 


259 


township  is  eleven  miles  from  one  railroad  and  six  miles 
from  another;  so  it  is  distinctively  rural.  To  be  sure, 
there  is  the  townhall,  a  post  office,  a  church  or  two,  a 
country  store,  and  a  few  dwellings.    That  is  New  England 


Fig.  119.    Transportation  Routes,  Gustavus  Township, 
Trumbull  County,  Ohio 

brought  to  the  Western  Reserve.  We  all  were  enthusiastic 
over  this  building  for  country  children.  We  never  saw  the 
like  before  in  the  country,  where  miserable  box-car,  one- 
room  structures  are  the  general  rule.  And  the  possibilities 
of  such  a  school  —  who  can  measure  them  ? 


26o       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

This  building  stands  in  the  center  of  the  township  in  a 
community  distinctively  country.  It  was  built  in  1900  at 
a  cost  of  six  thousand  dollars.  There  are  six  schoolrooms 
with  two  additional,  one  of  which  may  serve  as  a  library 
room  and  the  other  as  an  office  and  reception  room.  There 
is  a  basement  under  the  entire  building,  part  of  which  may 
be  utilized  for  laboratory  and  gymnasium.  The  building  is 
heated  by  steam. 

They  began  this  school  in  September  last.  The  enroll- 
ment is  one  hundred  and  eighty  against  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  last  year  in  the  scattered  schools.  Four  teachers 
are  employed.  All  the  children  of  the  township  are  brought 
to  the  school,  and  eight  wagons  are  employed  in  the  trans- 
portation. The  campus  has  about  three  acres.  Shade  trees, 
school  decoration,  library,  etc.,  will  come.  How  easily  that 
school  can  be  made  the  social,  literary,  and  musical  center 
of  the  entire  township  !  What  an  inspiration  it  must  be  to 
a  corps  of  teachers  to  work  in  such  a  community  as  that ! 

In  the  primary  grade  were  all  the  little  ones  of  the  entire 
township  in  a  beautiful  room,  while  in  the  high-school  room 
were  many  large  farmer  boys  getting  an  education  they 
could  not  otherwise  obtain.  On  the  playground  all  the  big 
boys  of  the  township  play  baseball.  Think  what  it  is  to  get 
all  the  boys  of  a  township  —  country  boys,  I  mean  —  on  one 
playground.  There  will  grow  up  a  unity,  and  each  boy,  hav- 
ing studied  and  played  with  other  boys  of  the  entire  town- 
ship, will  be  stronger  for  it.  When  the  boys  and  girls  of 
Green  Township  compete  with  those  of  Gustavus  Township 
in  football,  baseball,  or  in  literary  contests,  on  athletic 
ground  or  in  townhall,  each  team  will  have  the  backing  of 
an  enthusiastic  township.  In  a  great  many  districts  there 
are  hardly  enough  boys  to  play  "two-cornered  cat."    Can 


CONSOLIDATION 


261 


you  wonder  that  children  get  tired  of  district  school  after  a 
certain  age  ?  I  am  not  sure  that  I  have  grasped  the  full 
significance  of  what  we  saw  here,  but  if  that  is  good  for 
Ohio  boys,  why  not  the  same  for  Illinois  ? 

At  the  Green  Township  central  school,  where  the  new  six- 
thousand-dollar  brick  building  has  been  erected,  I  asked  a 
high-school  class  how  the  roads  were  when  they  were  bad.  A 
young  ladv  said  they  were  "  real  bad,"  while  a  young  man 


Fig.  120.    The  Cciurali/cd  Sdiuul  ut  Gi.^ 
County,  Ohio 


Us  iuwu.-hip.   rrumbull 


said  they  sometimes  found  it  necessary  to  put  four  horses 
to  the  wagon.  The  principal  said  that  the  people  were  pre- 
paring to  improve  the  main  roads  over  which  the  wagons 
ran.    Thus  better  schools  bring  better  roads. 

The  day  spent  at  Gustavus  and  Green  township  schools 
was  by  far  the  best  one  in  the  Western  Reserve.  As  far 
as  educational  matters  are  concerned,  the  townships  were 
far  ahead  of  anything  I  had  ever  seen. 


262  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Mr.  C.  G.  Williams,  member  of  the  Board  of  Education, 
Gustavus  Township,  Trumbull  County,  Ohio,  in  the  Sep- 
tember (1902)  number  of  the  OJiio  Teacher  has  the  follow- 
ing with  reference  to  transportation  : 

Nine  covered  wagons,  built  expressly  for  this  purpose,  with  a  view 
to  comfort  and  health  of  occupants  and  owned  by  the  route  con- 
tractors, call  at  the  home  of  every  pupil  in  the  morning  and  return 
every  pupil  to  his  home  after  school.  Our  routes  vary  in  length  from 
two  and  one-half  to  five  miles,  and  cost  us  from  sixty-eight  cents  to 
one  dollar  and  fifty-five  cents  per  day.  These  routes  are  let  to  the 
lowest  responsible  and  satisfactory  bidder.  In  the  letting  of  routes 
the  moral  character  of  the  contractor  is  taken  into  consideration,  and 
he  is  put  under  strict  bond  not  only  to  do  the  work,  but  is  held 
responsible  under  the  superintendent  of  schools  for  both  the  comfort 
and  the  moral  condition  and  order  in  his  wagon  in  transit. 

To  many  people  the  price  at  which  we  are  able  to  let  our  routes 
is  a  matter  of  surprise.  It  should  be  remembered  that  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  year  both  trips  can  be  made  in  four  hours  or  less, 
and  that  during  the  balance  of  the  year,  when  more  time  is  required, 
our  contractors  (usually  farmers  with  few  acres,  who  have  to  keep  a 
team  of  horses  anyhow)  are  not  busy  upon  their  farms.  We  have 
never  yet  had  any  trouble  in  letting  our  routes,  and  of  late  we  have 
had  enough  routes  to  supply  all  who  would  like  them. 

Before  this  system  was  put  into  operation  some  prospective  patrons 
worried  a  little  as  to  what  might  happen  should  a  child  be  taken  ill 
at  school,  in  some  instances  a  long  way  from  home.  Our  Board  of 
Education  has  thought  best  to  provide  against  that  trouble  by  con- 
tracting with  a  man  to  take  any  pupil  immediately  to  his  home  that 
the  superintendent  thinks  should  for  any  reason  go  home.  We  have 
not  as  yet  had  to  expend  over  three  dollars  any  year  for  this  purpose. 
It  surely  is  a  comfort  to  a  parent  to  know  that  his  child  will  be 
brought  home  if  occasion  demands  it. 

Speaking  of  opposition,  it  should  be  recorded  that  when  the  propo- 
sition came  before  our  voters  for  indorsement  four  years  ago  at  our 
annual  spring  election,  it  was  defeated  upon  a  tie  vote.  Three  weeks 
thereafter  the  same  or  a  very  similar  proposition  was  submitted  to  our 


CONSOLIDATION 


263 


voters,  and,  with  practically  every  vote  in  our  township  cast,  centrali- 
zation was  carried  by  a  majority  of  only  seventeen  votes.  It  will  be 
seen  that  public  sentiment  was  pretty  evenly  divided  and  that  the  new 
system  and  the  new  school  would  have  very  many  critics. 

Illinois  has  been  behind  other  states  in  the  matter  of 
consolidation.  It  may  not  be  too  much  to  claim  that  our 
visit  to  Ohio   and  the   publication  of  the  account  of  our 


Fig.  121.    The  Centralized  School  at  Lee's  Creek,  Wayne  Township, 
Clinton  County,  Ohio 

investigations  are  the  beginning  of  the  renaissance  of  con- 
solidation for  the  Prairie  State.  The  first  consolidated 
country  school  in  Illinois  was  dedicated  in  Seward  Township, 
Winnebago  County,  January  30,  1904.  The  second  school 
building  as  the  result  of  consolidation  is  being  erected  in 
Johnson  County  in  southern  Illinois,  where  William  M. 
Grissom,  Jr.,  of  Vienna,  is  county  superintendent.  The 
expectation  was  to  be  ready  for  school  November,  1905. 
County  Superintendent  Dean,  of  Geneva,  Kane  County, 
northern  Illinois,  reports  that  in  the  newly  consolidated 


264 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


district  in  that  county  the  voters,  by  a  vote  of  seventy-one 
for  and  twenty-nine  against,  voted  to  bond  the  district  for 
six  thousand  dollars  to  erect  a  new  building.  The  one  in 
Johnson  County  costs  five  thousand  dollars,  while  the  one 
in  Winnebago  County  cost  six  thousand  dollars,  with  an 
additional  expenditure  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  a  site  of 
3.6  acres  of  fine  land. 

The  first  agitation  for  a  consolidated  school  in  Winne- 
bago County  was  in  Seward  Township  on  February  22,  1 899. 
At  that  time  the  writer  gave  an  address  in  favor  of  con- 
solidation.   The  address 
was    received    with   but 
little  favor  by  the  major- 
ity of  the  people.    The 
new    sLx-thousand-dollar 
building  for  the  consoli- 
dated district  was  dedi- 
cated at  the  same  place 
on    January    30,    1904. 
*This  was   one    tangible 
result   of   a    five  years' 
educational  campaign. 
The  Seward  consolidation  is  a  beginning  in  a  small  way. 
The  beginning  in  Ohio  was  at  Kingsville  in  1892,  by  tak- 
ing children  from  one  subdistrict  to  the  Kingsville  school. 
No  new  building  had  to  be  erected.    Even  for  this  they  had 
to  get  special  legislation  to  allow  the  transportation,  and 
so  careful  were  they  that  the  legislature  said  this  could  be 
done  only  in  "any  township  which  by  the  census  of  1890 
had  a  population  not  less  than  seventeen  hundred  and  ten 
or  more  than  seventeen  hundred  and  fifteen."     Seemingly 
the  people  could  not  be  trusted,  as  some  think  they  cannot 


Fig.  122.  An  Abandoned  Two-Story 
Brick  Schoolhouse  in  Wayne  Town- 
ship, Clinton  County,  Ohio 


CONSOLIDATION  265 

be  now  in  Illinois  when  it  comes  to  the  matter  of  spending 
their  own  money  to  provide  better  school  facilities  for 
country  children. 

The  consolidated  district  in  Seward  Township,  Winne- 
bago County,  Illinois,  is  made  up  of  old  districts  90,  91, 
and  93.  In  area  it  is  exactly  one  third  of  the  township, 
which  is  six  miles  square.  The  new  consolidated  district  con- 
tains twelve  sections  of  land,  or  7680  acres.  The  assessed 
valuation  of  districts,  as  made  by  assessment  in  1902,  is 
as  follows  : 

District  90      .  ' J?58,399 

District  91 52,790 

District  93 35,126 

Total 5146,315 

The  assessed  value  by  the  Illinois  revenue  law  represents 
one  fifth  of  the  fair  cash  value.  By  that  the  value  of  the 
consolidated  district  is  over  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Taxes  are  levied  on  assessed  valuation,  and  since  some  of 
the  land  could  not  be  bought  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  per  acre,  it  is  not  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  the 
value  of  this  consolidated  district  is  nearly,  if  not  quite,  a 
round  million  of  dollars. 

The  assessed  valuation  of  this  consolidated  district  in 
1904  was  $156,243,  with  a  tax  rate  of  $1.83  on  the  $100 
to  pay  all  expenses  of  the  school  and  first  payment  of 
bonds  and  interest.  The  Illinois  school  law  permits  a  total 
levy  of  five  dollars  on  every  hundred  dollars  of  assessed 
valuation  for  this  purpose.  Thus  the  tax  rate  for  this  new 
school  is  exactly  one  third  of  what  the  law  allows.  Coun- 
try people  may  have  better  country  schools  by  spending  more 
money  in  a  better  ivay. 


266 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


The  consolidated  school  has  a  school  year  one  month 
longer,  employs  four  teachers,  and  does  two  years'  high- 
school  work.  But,  as  was  said  before,  suppose  the  total 
cost  is  more,  better  returns  will  come  for  money  expended. 

The  building  has  four  rooms  and  a  basement.  In  this 
basement,  which  extends  under  the  entire  structure,  there 
are  two  large  rooms  which  may,  in  the  future,  be  utilized 
for  a  workshop  and  a  manual  training  room. 

All  the  walls  have  been  decorated  in  color,  and  a  friend 
from  Boston,  Massachusetts,  very  generously  donated  pic- 
tures and  casts,  so  that  art  education  is  beginning  for  these 
country  children.     His  gifts  were  the  following : 


Bust  of  Lincoln. 

"  Cherubs  Singing  " — two  pieces. 
"  Morning." 
"  Night." 

"  Boys  Playing  Trumpets." 
•*  Boys  Playing  Drums." 
"  Triumph  of  Alexander  "  —  three 
pieces. 

Alma  Tadema's  "  Reading  from 

Homer." 
Bouguereau's   "Homer   and  his 

Guide." 
Breton's  "  Song  of  the  Lark." 
Corot's  '<  Lake." 
Douglas's  "Ancient  Britons." 
Farquharson's    "Over    Snow 

Fields  Waste  and  Pathless." 
Hock's  "  Fishing  Boats." 
Homer's  "  Fog  Warning." 
•Hovenden's    "  Breaking     Home 

Ties." 


Landseer's  "  Distinguished  Mem- 
ber of  the  Humane  Society." 
Le  Rolle's  "  By  the  Riverside." 
Van  Marcke's  "  Water  Gate." 
Millet's  "  Gleaners." 
Murillo's  "  St.  John  the  Baptist." 
Plockhorst's  "  Guardian  Angel." 
Pyle's  "Washington  in  his  Gar- 
den at  Mt.  Vernon." 
Raphael's  "  Sistine  Madonna." 
Raphael's    "Madonna    of    the 

Chair." 
Riecke's  "  Sunset  Glow." 
Ruysdael's  "  Windmill." 
Turner's  "  Fighting  Temeraire." 
Volkman's  "Waving  Wheat- 
field." 
Watts's  "  Sir  Galahad." 
Waterlow's  "  Nursery." 
Portrait  of  Longfellow. 
Arch  of  Titus. 
Capitol  at  Washington,  D.C. 


CONSOLIDATION 


267 


By  centralization  all  the  children  of  the  township  have 
the  same  chance  for  those  higher  educational  advantages 
which,  under  the  present  plan,  only  five  or  ten  per  cent  are 
able  to  get  by  leaving  home  and  going  to  the  city.  With  a 
central  graded  school  and  a  high-school  course  the  children 
can  be  at  home  evenings  under  the  care  of  their  parents. 
The  people  of  the  country  districts  are  entitled  to  receive 
the  fullest  benefits  for  money  expended.  Better  means  of 
education,  better  training,  stronger  characters,  — •  the  pos- 
sibility of  all  these  must  appeal  to  every  parent  and  to 
every  public-spirited  citizen  of  any  community.  The  course 
of  study  may  be  so  en- 
riched that  all  the  farmer 
boys  may  be  taught  some 
of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  agriculture,  hor- 
ticulture, etc.,  without 
sending  them  away  to  a 
university  to  learn  what 
may  be  learned  at  home. 
Such  a  township  high 
school,  with  good  teach- 
ers, ought  to  be  able  to 
teach  the  boys  and  girls  something  about  the  formation, 
composition,  and  care  of  the  soil,  rotation  of  crops,  con- 
stituents of  plants,  and  fruit  growing.  In  compliance  with 
the  request  of  the  State  Farmers'  Institute  of  Illinois,  an 
elementary  course  in  agriculture  has  been  added  to  the  state 
course  of  study  for  the  common  schools  of  Illinois.  The 
farmers  of  Illinois  are  doing  well  in  having  a  College  of  Agri- 
culture at  the  state  university  at  Urbana.  Let  the  influence 
of  that  work  extend  to  every  township  in  the  way  of  an 


Fig.  123.  Abandoned  One-Room  School- 
house  in  Wayne  Township,  Clinton 
County,  Ohio 


268 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


enriched  course  of  study  in  the  township  union  graded  school, 
and  one  result  will  be  that  more  boys  and  girls  will  go  to 
the  College  of  Agriculture.  Reference  was  made  in  Chap- 
ter XI  to  the  number  of  boys  and  girls  over  fourteen  years 
old  in  one  county.  Out  of  a  school  population  (between  six 
and  twenty-one)  of  2714,  for  106  one-room  country  schools 
there  were  only  167  boys  over  fourteen  and  121  girls  of 
the  same  age  enrolled  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1905. 


W^^SjL^^ 

'^ff' 

W^ 

wr^ 

'''^IH 

v^^^^^^^^^^^HHH^^^^^BH^^^^^^H 

7         ^ 

"'  -^^^d^ 

: ."  _    '■' 

;.'■ 

■"-"^ilKS*- 

^^^•^5?^^^  - 

Fig.  124.    An  Old  Schoolhouse  at  Snow  Hill,  Hancock  County, 
Georgia 

Where  are  all  the  big  boys  and  girls  that  used  to  be  in 
all  the  country  schools,  as  some  of  us  used  to  know  them  ? 
During  the  same  year  there  were  enrolled  in  the  six  village 
high  schools  and  the  city  high  school  of  Rockford  86  girls 
and  68  boys,  a  total  of  154  country  pupils  paying  tuition 
for  high-school  privileges. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  high-school 
tuition  the  country  people  of  Winnebago  County  have  paid 
for  ten  years  to  have  a  part  of  the  children  educated  away 
from  home. 


CONSOLIDATION 


269 


These  statistics  are  taken  from  the  township  treasurer's 
books  : 


\ear 

Rock  FORD 

Peca- 

TONMCA 

DuRANn 

Rock- 
ton 

Winne- 
bago 

ROSCOE 

Cherry 
Valley 

IS95 

$1,523.21 

5300.25 

$229.93 

S18.OO 

$204.00 

?33-'o 

52  1.00 

1896 

1,561.34 

201.82 

I02.S3 

121.25 

163.65 

13-50 

1897 

1,500.00 

3'3-89 

88.S4 

58.00 

424.61 

137.06 

36.00 

IS98 

1,871.80 

258.54 

I3I.S9 

54.00 

249-57 

84.20 

78. 00 

1899 

1,655.61 

364.68 

112.02 

279-93 

135-20 

27.00 

1900 

2,009.27 

346.00 

232.01 

54-40 

245.62 

116.30 

I90I 

2,429.01 

346.00 

216.50 

33--0 

185.00 

62.10 

61.00 

1902 

2,633.88 

346.00 

23S.35 

82.S0 

215.20 

10S.50 

1 8.00 

1903 

3,902.72 

340.00 

147.50 

56.60 

1 15.16 

63.00 

1904 

2,742.50 

444-55 

171.50 

68.00 

64.75 

129.20 

36.00 

Totals 

$21,829.34 

$3,261.73 

$1,671.27 

$425.00 

82,105.09 

M,032.4I 

$291.00 

Grand  total  for  ten  years $30,615.84 


The  above  is  not  what  the  county  superintendent  says 
or  thinks,  but  what  treasurers'  books  show.  This  S30,6 1 5 .84 
will  build  four  such  buildings  as  the  Seward  Consolidated 
School  building,  with  3.6  acres  for  a  site  for  each  building, 
and  enough  will  be  left  over  to  equip  thirteen  school  wagons 
at  a  cost  of  S200  each.  The  Seward  building  cost  $6000 
and  the  site  Si 000.  This  makes  a  total  of  S7000.  Mul- 
tiply $7000  by  4,  and  the  result  is  $28,000  ;  subtract  this 
amount  from  $30,61  5.84  —  the  amount  of  tuition  the  coun- 
try people  have  paid  for  the  last  ten  years,  —  and  the  re- 
mainder is  $2615.84.  This  will  equip  thirteen  wagons  at 
a  cost  of  $200  each.  Are  the  Seward  people  wise  in  their 
day  and  generation .-' 

Or  if  each  family  provides  its  own  transportation  without 
public  expense,  as  they  do  in  Seward  Township,  this  $2615.84 


270 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


would  give  $653.96  as  a  fund  for  a  small  manual  training 
equipment  for  each  of  the  four  buildings.  It  has  been 
shown  that  in  Seward  Township  nineteen  boys  and  seven- 
teen girls,   each   over  fourteen  years    of  age,  a  total  of 


Fig.  125.    A  New  Schoolhouse  at  Snow  Hill,  Hancock  County,  Georgia 

thirty-six  large  pupils,  were  enrolled  in  the  consolidated 
school  last  year.  There  were  twenty-seven  nonresident 
pupils  enrolled  in  that  school,  and  their  tuition  amounted 
to  $265.25,  almost  enough  to  meet  the  first  annual  interest  of 
$280  on  the  bonded  indebtedness  of  $7000  at  four  per  cent. 

It  is  not  enough  to  consolidate.  After  that  is  done  the 
school  must  be  developed  along  the  line  of  country  inter- 
ests. I  do  not  want  the  evils  of  a  graded  system  for  the 
country  consolidated  school.  If  directed  as  it  should  be, 
the  consolidated  country  school  should  offer  the  following 
advantages  over  the  average  country  school : 

I.  There  will  result  the  inspiration  and  interest  that 
always  come  from  numbers.    A   school  of   eight   or  ten 


CONSOLIDATION 


271 


pupils  is  not  calculated  to  stimulate  a  boy  or  girl  to  do  the 
best  work.  With  only  one  in  a  class  there  is  not  that  com- 
petition and  rivalry  which  call  forth  all  the  powers  of  the 
child,  —  the  preparation  for  the  real  struggle  of  life. 

2.  Stronger  classes  will  thus  be  formed,  giving  the  teacher 
more  time  for  the  recitation  and  for  the  necessary  instruction. 

3.  There  will  be  better  trained  teachers  for  the  country 
children,  and  these  teachers  will  command  and  receive  better 
salaries. 

4.  There  will  result  greater  economy  in  school  buildings 
and  ecjuipment.  It  will  cost  less  to  keep  one  central  build- 
ing than  several  scattered  schoolhouses,  the  first  cost  of 
the  one  central  building  not  being  as  great  as  that  of  eight 


Fig.  126.    An  Old  Academy  at  Snow  Hill,  Hancock  County,  Georgia 


or  ten  scattered  buildings.  Besides,  the  children  will  have 
the  influence  of  a  modern,  sanitary,  well-ventilated,  well- 
lighted,  and  well-heated  building.  The  surroundings  have 
perhaps  quite  as  much  to  do  in  the  education  of  the  child 
as  the  subject-matter  of  the  text-books. 


272 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


5.  The  school  year  for  the  country  child  will  be  length- 
ened. There  will  be  high-school  privileges.  The  attend- 
ance will  be  more  regular.  More  pupils  will  use  the  money 
expended  for  education,  and  thus  the  per  capita  cost  will 
be  reduced. 

6.  Such  a  school  will  afford  time  and  opportunity  for 
systematic  instruction  in  the  elementary  principles  of  agri- 
culture throughout  the  grades.  With  trained  teachers 
working  under  the  direction  of  the  College  of  Agriculture, 
such  a  school  will  be  able  to  meet  the  demand  for  instruc- 
tion in  things  relating  to  the  farm.  Here  can  be  taught 
something  with  reference  to  feeding  standards  and  selec- 
tion of  stock,  fruit  growing  and  constituents  of  plants, 
rotation  of  crops,  and  composition  and  care  of  the  soil. 
The  consolidated  school  along  these  lines  may  become  an 
experiment  station,  working  under  the  direction  of  the 
expert  investigators  of  the  College  of  Agriculture. 

7.  Consolidation  will  help  to  bring  better  roads.  As  it 
now  is  with  us,  the  farmers  always  get  their  milk  to  a  cen- 
tral creamery,  if  it  takes  four  horses.  Is  not  a  child  deserv- 
ing of  as  much  consideration  as  a  can  of  milk  ?  It  is  not 
at  all  difficult  to  hear  of  objections  to  consolidation.  These 
may  be  summarized  as  follows  :  (i)  It  will  cost  too  much  ; 
(2)  the  roads  are  not  suitable  ;  (3)  the  roads  and  weather  are 
often  unfit  to  take  out  a  team  ;  (4)  it  is  better  for  the  chil- 
dren to  walk  ;  (5)  it  compels  a  cold  lunch  at  school ;  (6)  it  will 
reduce  the  value  of  farm  lands  in  the  neighborhood  of  aban- 
doned schoolhouses  ;  (7)  there  is  sentiment  against  remov- 
ing "the  old  schoolhouse  ";  (8)  it  will  throw  many  teachers 
out  of  employment ;  (9)  it  takes  children  too  far  from  home. 

Superintendent  R.  P.  Clark,  of  Ashtabula,  Ohio,  at  the 
Special  State  Conference  in  the  interests  of  country  schools. 


CONSOLIDATION 


273 


held  by  the  University  of  Illinois  at  Urbana,  June  26-30, 
1905,  discussed  very  fully  the  subject  of  transportation  as 
it  is  in  Ohio.  They  do  not  have  hard  roads  there.  A  part 
of  Superintendent  Clark's  paper  is  here  given: 

There  is  no  phase  of  the  question  of  consolidation  of  country 
schools  that  is  the  subject  of  so  much  controversy  and  criticism  as 
transportation.    Transportation  is  the  rock  on  which  the  consolidation 


Fig.  127.    New  Schoolhouse  at  Snow  Hill,  Hancock  County,  Georgia 

idea  is  most  often  wrecked.  It  is  the  one  phase  of  the  consolidation 
question  that  the  average  farmer  in  the  country  districts  thinks  he 
fully  understands.  Approach  him  on  the  subject  of  consolidation  and 
he  immediately  turns  the  conversation  along  the  line  of  transportation. 
Show  him  the  benefits  in  general  to  be  derived  from  consolidation 
and  he  gives  evidence  by  his  reply  that  he  only  considers  the  fact 
that  he  lives  five  or  four  or  three  or  two  miles  from  the  center  of  the 
township.  Paint  him  a  picture  of  a  township  as  a  social  and  intel- 
lectual unit  and  he  will  only  look  at  it  from  a  distance  of  five  or  four 


274 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


or  three  or  two  miles.  Call  his  attention  to  the  broader,  humanitarian 
side  of  consolidation  and  his  poor  neighbor  cannot  be  brought  into 
nearer  focus  than  five  or  four  or  three  or  two  miles. 

It  never  occurs  to  the  average  farmer  that  he  is  very  likely  preju- 
diced beyond  a  reasonable  degree.  His  life,  perhaps,  has  been  very 
circumscribed  and  his  horizon  narrow.  He  is  conservative  to  a  remark- 
able extent.  When  any  question  is  brought  to  his  attention  he  at 
once,  as  does  any  other  man,  seizes  upon  that  phase  of  it  that  is 
or  seems  most  tangible  and  appeals  most  strongly  to  his  interest. 
Therefore  the  average  farmer  sees  in  the  question  of  consolidation 
of  schools  only  one  thing  worthy  of  consideration,  namely,  transpor- 
tation. Meet  this  question  and  almost  invariably  the  battle  is  won. 
Make  other  considerations  of  greater  importance,  as  indeed  they  are, 
and  the  heaviest  gun  of  the  opposition  is  effectively  spiked.  .  .  . 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  necessary  to  say  that  in  these  discussions  of 
consolidation  of  schools  the  townships  considered  are  all  five  miles 
square,  and  while  they  present  a  variety  of  surface  and  soil,  they  are 
of  the  same  size  and  are  very  similar  in  social  conditions.  They  are 
in  that  part  of  Ohio  known  as  the  Connecticut  Western  Reserve,  and 
the  people  are  for  the  most  part  descendants  of  that  sturdy  New 
England  and  Pennsylvania  stock  that  came  into  Ohio  in  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  roads  during  a  portion  of  the 
year  are  as  bad  as  roads  can  be  and  still  be  roads. 

Road  improvement  has  just  reached  Oliio  and  there  is  good  pros- 
pect of  better  things,  but  in  no  township  considered  in  reference  to 
consolidation  has  the  slightest  attempt  been  made  to  improve  the 
roads  along  the  lines  of  modern  methods.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
townships  of  northeastern  Ohio  can,  in  general,  duplicate  all  the  objec- 
tionable features  standing  in  the  way  of  consolidation  found  in  this 
(Illinois)  section  of  the  country.  .  .  . 

In  a  former  chapter  reference  was  made  to  a  report  of  an 
important  committee  appointed  by  the  National  Educational 
Association  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  July  9,  1903.  This 
committee  made  a  report  in  July,  1905.  The  report  in 
pamphlet  form  is  entitled  "  Report  of  the  Committee  on  In- 
dustrial Education  in  Schools  for  Country  Communities." 


CONSOLIDATION 


275 


In  this  report  W.  M.  Hays,  Assistant  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture, a  member  of  the  committee,  has  given  an  outhne 
of  a  course  of  study  for  the  consoHclated  country  school, 
the  agricultural  high  school,  and  the  agricultural  college, 
articulated  in  a  unified  scheme.  Professor  Hays  did  this 
upon  the  request  of  the  committee. 

This  is  certainly  a  move  in  the  right  direction.  It  is  time 
the  gap  between  the  country  school  and  the  college  of 


3 

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Fig.  1 28.    Old  Schoolhouse,  No.  2.  at  Williamsburg,  North  Carolina 


agriculture  was  filled.  The  agricultural  high  schools  of 
Minnesota  and  Wisconsin  do  this  in  an  ideal  way;  that  is 
to  say,  the  county  agricultural  high  school  stands  in  the 
same  relation  to  the  farm  that  the  city  high  school  does 
to  the  life  in  the  city. 

The  consolidated  country  school  with  a  two  years'  high- 
school  course  goes  a  long  way  towards  filling  up  this  gap. 


276 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


I  believe  in  the  country  high  school  with  a  course  of  study 
suited  to  the  future  life  of  the  great  majority  of  the  boys 
and  girls  who  attend  such  a  school. 

Space  does  not  allow  me  to  give  the  course  for  the  first 
eight  grades  as  outlined  by  Professor  Hays,  nor  that  of  the 
agricultural  high  school  or  college.  Only  the  suggested 
course  for  two  years  of  work  in  the  high-school  department 
of  the  consolidated  country  school  is  here  given.  In  time 
this  corresponds  to  the  first  two  years  of  a  first-class  city 
high  school  doing  four  years'  work. 


First-Year  High-School  Course  in  Consolidated 
Country  School 


First  Half  Year 

Agricultural  botany 4 

Elementary  algebra 5 

English 4 

Drawing  (farms  and  buildings)   .  2 

Rhetoricals i 

Country  engineering  (boys)    .     .  3 

Sewing  (girls) 2 

Agriculture  (girls) i 


Second  Half  Year 

Agricultural  botany 4 

Elementary  algebra 5 

English 4 

Farm  accounts 4 

Rhetoricals i 

Fences    and  farm  conveniences 

(boys) 2 

Cooking  (girls) 2 


Second-Year  High-School  Course  in  Consolidated 
Country  School 


First  Half  Year 
Plane  geometry    ......     c 

Physiology  (foods  and  feeds)      .     4 

Civics 

General  history c 

Rhetoricals       ....  t 


Second  Half  Year 

Plane  geometry 5 

English 4 

Agricultural  mathematics  ...  4 

General  history 5 

Rhetoricals 1 

Judging  stocks  and  seeds  (boys)     i        Judging  stocks  and  seeds  (bovs)  i 

^^T'^"'''y 2',       Carpentry '    .  2', 

Sewing  (girls) Sewing  (girls) 2 


CONSOLIDATION 


277 


It  is  the  country  child's  right  to  have  just  as  good  an 
educational  opportunity  as  that  enjoyed  by  the  most  favored 
city  child  attending  the  public  school.  If  the  average  coun- 
try school  affords  this  opportunity  both  for  elementary  in- 
struction and  high-school  privileges,  then  the  consolidated 
country  school  has  not  much  claim.     But  if  the  average 


Fig.  129.    Old  Schoolhouse,  No.  3,  at  Williamsburg,  North  Carolina 

country  school  does  not  afford  this  opportunity,  then  the  con- 
solidated country  school  is  worthy  of  earnest  consideration. 

Let  us  enrich  and  enlarge  life  for  the  country  child. 

Reference  elsewhere  has  been  made  to  a  bulletin  on  the 
*'  Centralized  Schools  in  Ohio,"  by  Mr.  A.  B.  Graham,  Super- 
intendent of  Agricultural  College  Extension  Work,  State 
University,  Columbus.  Some  of  the  illustrations  in  this 
chapter  are  from  that  bulletin,  namely,  map  of  Ohio  show- 
ing extent  of  centralization,  map  of  Wayne  Township,  the 


278 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


$17,500  building  in  Wayne  Township,  two  of  the  abandoned 
buildings  in  Wayne  Township,  and  the  centralized  building 
in  Gustavus  Township.  These  speak  for  themselves  with 
reference  to  this  forward  movement  for  the  country  child. 
The  following,  from  Mr.  Graham's  bulletin,  will  convey 
to  the  reader  a  correct  idea  of  the  types  of  centralized 
schools  in  Ohio : 

I.  In  a  few  townships  the  subdistrict  schools  have  been  abandoned 
and  the  pupils  conveyed  to  a  village  school  centrally  located.  Such 
schools  are  found  at  Kingsville,  Ashtabula  County,  and  at  Windham, 
Portage  County.  In  Windham  Township  the  Board  of  Education 
contracts  with  the  village  board  of  Windham  for  tuition.  To  Wood- 
stock, Champaign  County,  sixty  pupils  from  four  scliools  in   Rush 


Fig.  130.    The  New  Building  for  Nos.  2  and  3  Consolidated,  Williams- 
burg, North  Carolina 

Township  are  transported  in  three  comfortable  wagons  at  a  cost  of 
one  hundred  dollars  per  month.  The  pupils  from  seven  out  of  eight 
subdistricts  from  Fulton  Township,  Fulton  County,  are  transported 
to  the  village  school  at  Swanton. 


CONSOLIDATION 


279 


2.  In  most  completely  centralized  townships  the  central  building, 
grounds,  wagons,  etc.,  belong  to  the  township.  In  some  places  the 
wagons  belong  to  the  drivers  or  contractors.  Such  schools  are  to  be 
found  in  Wayne  Township,  Clinton  County  ;    Mad   River  Township, 


Fig.  131.    The  Interior  of  Schoolhouse,  District  99,  Winnebago 
County,  Illinois 

Champaign  County;  Copley  Township,  Summit  County,  and  in  about 
twenty  others  in  northeastern  Ohio  (see  map,  Fig.  117). 

3.  At  Selma,  Clark  County,  and  at  Bidwell,  Gallia  County,  are 
special  districts  created  to  include  territory  sufficiently  extensive  to 
require  the  transportation  of  pupils  to  school.  They  are  known  as 
the  Selma  Special  and  the  Porter-Bidwell  Special,  and  are  the  only 
school  districts  in  our  state  organized  to  comply  with  section  3934. 

4.  The  fourth  type  may  hardly  be  considered  centralized,  but 
rather  consolidated  schools.  Such  are  found  in  Madison  Township, 
Lake  County  ;  Salem  Township,  Champaign  County  ;  \'alley  Town- 
ship, Scioto  County;  Liberty  Township,  Ross  County,  and  in  about 
thirty  others. 

There  are  now  92  centralized  and  consoHdated  schools,  divided 
as  follows.  One  or  two  schools  suspended  and  children  transported  to 
another  school,  35;  about  one  half  or  more  of  the  township  schools 
suspended,  25  ;  nearly  or  completely  centralized,  32. 


28o       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Mr.  Graham  sent  letters  of  inquiry  to  patrons  asking 
several  questions  with  reference  to  the  working  of  the  cen- 
tralized schools.  The  following  are  some  of  the  questions 
with  replies  : 

"  Does  your  child  stand  and  wait  for  the  wagon  ?  "  Every  reply 
so  far  is,  "  No." 

"  Is  it  necessary  to  clothe  your  child  as  heavily  for  the  winter  trips 
as  under  the  old  plan  ?  "  Seventy-five  per  cent  answer,  "  No  ";  fifteen 
per  cent,  "  No  difference  ";  and  ten  per  cent,  "Yes." 

"  Does  your  child  attend  school  more  regularly  than  under  the  old 
plan?"  Eighty  per  cent  answer,  "Yes";  twenty  per  cent,  "  See  no 
difference." 

"  Does  your  child  show  increased  interest  above  what  it  was  under 
the  old  plan? "  Ninety  per  cent  answer,  "  Yes  ";  ten  per  cent  answer, 
"No." 

"  Do  your  teachers  show  an  increased  interest?  "  Ninety-five  per 
cent  answer,  "Yes";  five  per  cent  answer,  "No"  and  "Notice  no 
difference." 

"  If  it  takes  more  time  under  the  new  way  than  the  old  plan,  is  it 
compensated  for  by  better  work  ? "  Eighty-five  per  cent  answer, 
"Yes,"  and  fifteen  per  cent,  "Can't  say  "  and  "  No." 

"  What  effect  has  the  centralized  or  consolidated  school  on  the 
social  and  educational  interests  of  the  township  ?  "  Most  who  have 
answered  said,  "There  has  been  a  great  improvement."  One  replied, 
"  In  the  beginning  it  stirred  up  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  but  every- 
thing is  going  along  nicely  now."  A  few  replied,  "  No  improvement ; 
has  not  been  established  long  enough  to  tell  what  it  will  do." 

The  entire  bulletin  needs  to  be  read  to  be  appreciated. 
More  than  that,  it  is  an  inspiration  to  visit  these  schools 
and  note  their  working  at  first  hand.  Mr.  Graham  points 
out  two  main  difficulties  in  Ohio : 

I.  Prejudice  against  a  new  thing  and  the  sentiment  that  prompts 
us  to  quote  "  forty  years  ago,"  and  to  relate  some  of  our  childhood 


CONSOLIDATION  281 

experiences  that  are  so  vivid  and  so  closely  associated  with  the  little 
weather-beaten  schoolhouse,  —  which,  when  all  sentiment  is  thrown 
by,  did  little  more  than  house  us,  —  sometimes  prevent  children  from 
having  modern  advantages. 

2.  Bad  roads  and  negligent  drivers.  The  use  that  is  being  made 
of  roads  by  the  rural  mail  carrier,  by  milk  haulers,  and  others  who 
travel  them  daily  is  arousing  an  interest  in  road  building  that  will 
make  them  of  greater  service  to  all.  A  negligent  driver  should  meet 
the  same  fate  that  some  have  already  met,  —  immediate  dismissal. 
Negligence  on  the  part  of  the  driver  is  no  more  excusable  than  for 
a  teacher. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE  TRAINING   OF   TEACHERS    FOR   COUNTRY 
SCHOOLS 

The  writer  is  well  aware  that  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to 
find  fault.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  point  out  a  sane  remedy. 
There  is  no  disposition  in  this  chapter  to  belittle  the  work 
that  is  done  to-day  by  the  country  school-teacher.  Most 
of  the  country  school-teachers  with  whom  I  am  acquainted 
are  earnest,  enthusiastic,  loyal,  and  progressive,  and  they 
are  getting  things  done.  Many  of  them,  even  with  the  low 
wages  paid  them,  are  attending  summer  sessions  at  normal 
schools  and  earnestly  striving  to  attain  greater  skill  and 
efficiency  as  teachers.  There  are  some  poor  workmen  in 
the  country  schools,  but  that  is  true  everywhere.  Perhaps 
the  critical  observer  will  claim  that  there  is  more  poor  teach- 
ing done  in  the  country  schools  of  the  United  States  than 
in  the  graded  schools.  If  this  is  true,  we  ask  our  critics  to 
be  charitable  enough  to  temper  their  criticisms  with  some 
knowledge  of  the  hindrances  to  the  best  work  in  the  country 
schools.  I  will  not  attempt  to  enumerate  them  all,  or  to 
name  them  in  the  order  of  importance.    These  are  a  few : 

1.  Insufficient  supervision. 

2.  Low  wages  and  insecurity  of  position. 

3.  Small  schools  with  irregular  attendance. 

4.  Low  educational  ideals  in  many  districts. 

5.  Failure  of  normal  schools  to  train  teachers  for  the 
specific  work  of  the  country  schools. 

282 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  283 

It  is  the  last  item  that  I  wish  to  consider  here. 

In  the  Prairie  Fanner  editorial  on  "fads,"  quoted  in 
Chapter  X,  the  editor  says,  "  We  hope  that  the  educator 
will  be  wise  enough  to  fit  the  school  for  either  of  these 
innovations  (study  of  agriculture  and  domestic  science  in 
the  country  school)  rather  than  attempt  to  fit  them  to  the 
school." 

Now  I  suppose  the  term  "educators"  may  be  justly 
applied  to  the  various  members  comprising  the  faculty  of 
the  normal  school.  They  consider  it  their  business  to  fit 
the  school  to  do  its  work  by  fitting  the  teacher  to  con- 
duct the  school  properly  in  all  its  relations  ;  and  the  term 
"school"  has  always  meant  the  city  graded  system,  —  that 
is,  it  has  meant  that  until  within  the  last  two  or  three 
years  or  so.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  narrow  limitation 
of  the  words  "city  graded  school"  will  be  denied  by  the 
average  normal  school.  But  all  normal  —  state  normal  — 
schools  that  I  am  acquainted  with,  so  far  as  their  training 
schools  are  concerned,  are  affiliated  with  city  systems,  and 
all  the  instruction  of  student  teachers  —  that  is,  practical 
work  —  is  directed  toward  solving  the  problems  of  the  city 
schools. 

It  may  be  that  the  educators  connected  with  normal 
schools  do  not  consider  the  study  of  agriculture  and  domes- 
tic science  as  necessary  for  the  country  schools.  If  so, 
it  must  be  confessed  that  they  have  plenty  of  company 
among  the  country  people  themselves,  who  do  not  yet  see 
the  possibilities  of  the  new  country  school.  But  the  lead- 
ers of  agricultural  thought  do  believe  in  these  things,  and  it 
would  seem  that  the  leaders  in  pedagogical  thought  believe 
in  them  also,  if  one  may  judge  from  the  recent  expressions 
of  some  of  them. 


284  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Superintendent  Newell  D.  Gilbert,  head  of  the  training 
school  connected  with  the  Northern  Illinois  State  Normal 
School  at  Dekalb,  in  discussing  "The  Sociological  Basis 
of  the  Course  of  Study  "  at  the  Northern  Illinois  Teachers' 
Association  at  Kankakee,  April  27-29,  1.905,  said  : 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  it  is  evident  that  social  efficiency  de- 
mands that  the  course  of  study  in  all  its  detailed  outworking  should 
be  made  a  "local  issue"  ;  that  it  should  utilize  the  local  community 
life, — itsoccupations,  resources,  organization,  traditions,  customs.  The 
school  should  be  consciously  in  touch  with  all.  To-day  the  serious 
charge  against  it  is  its  isolation  as  a  realm  of  child  life  and  its  failure 
to  articulate  closely  and  smoothly  with  the  home,  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  the  community  at  large.  Only  so  can  the  realities  of  the 
larger  life  come  to  the  child ;  only  so  can  the  instruction  of  the 
school  take  on  the  reality  needed  to  make  it  vigorously  and  practically 
effective. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  a  state  institution  supported 
by  public  taxation  should  have  a  department  that  will  fit 
teachers  to  "utilize  the  local  community  life"  for  the 
country  school,  and  that  some  practical  training  should  be 
given  to  country  school-teachers  and  graduates  from  city 
high  schools  who  expect  to  teach  in  the  country  school  as 
to  how  to  "articulate"  the  country  school  "closely  and 
smoothly  "  with  the  country  home,  because  only  in  this  way 
can  "the  realities  of  the  larger  life"  come  to  the  country 
child.  Only  in  this  way  can  the  "instruction"  of  the 
country  school  "take  on  the  reality  needed  to  make  it 
vigorously  and  practically  effective." 

But  the  normal  schools  may  say :  "  Send  on  your  coun- 
try school-teachers.  They  do  not  come  to  our  halls."  The 
country  school-teacher  who  does  go  —  not  in  large  numbers 
as  yet,  it  is  true  —  replies  :  "  I  do  not  get  any  help  for  the 
specific  problems  of  the  country  school.    If  I  am  allowed  to 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  285 

teach  in  the  practice  school,  it  is  in  a  graded  school  with 
forty-minute  recitation  periods  and  the  content  of  the  course 
of  instruction  along  city  interests.  I  need  help  on  how  to 
organize  a  country  school  of  fourteen  pupils  with  twenty- 
six  daily  recitations,  and  how  to  get  the  most  out  of  a 
seven-minute  recitation  in  geography,"  etc. 

Thus  the  difificulties  of  the  situation  are  apparent. 

It  is  reported  that,  during  the  last  General  Assembly  of 
Illinois,  the  country  members  of  the  legislature  objected  to 


Fig.  132.    The  Wisconsin  Training  School  at  Menomonie 

voting  for  appropriations,  to  any  great  extent,  for  the  state 
normal  schools  on  the  plea  that  the  country,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  city,  did  not  derive  any  direct  appreciable 
benefit  from  them.  Yet  the  farms  paid  a  large  per  cent 
of  the  public  tax  for  the  maintenance  of  schools  that  are 
supposed  to  help  the  entire  school  system.  All  of  the  above, 
or  words  to  that  effect,  led  to  the  pas.sage  of  an  act  to 
quiet  the  complaint  of  the  country  lawmaker  and  taxpayer. 


286  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Just  how  much  good  it  will  do  remains  to  be  seen.  The 
legislators  recognize  that  something  is  wrong,  for  the  first 
section  says,  "that  in  order  to  equalize  the  advantages 
of  the  state  normal  schools  there,"  etc.  But  the  entire 
act  is  here  given,  followed  by  a  brief  comment.  This  act 
took  effect  July  i,  1905.  No  definite  plans  have  yet  been 
formulated  to  make  the  law  fulfill  the  mission  for  which  it 
was  passed. 

Normal   Scholarship 
An  act  to  provide  for  scholarships  for  graduates  of  the  eighth  g?-ade 

Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
represented  in  the  General  Assembly:  That  in  order  to  equalize  the 
advantages  of  the  state  normal  schools,  there  shall  be  awarded 
annually,  to  each  school  township  or  fractional  township,  a  scholar- 
ship which  shall  entitle  the  holder  thereof  to  gratuitous  instruction  in 
any  state  normal  school  for  a  period  of  four  years :  Provided  that 
any  township  having  a  population  exceeding  one  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants  shall  be  entitled  to  five  scholarships. 

Section  2.  The  county  superintendent  shall  receive  and  register 
the  names  of  all  applicants  for  such  scholarships,  and  shall  hold  an 
examination,  or  cause  an  examination  to  be  held,  in  each  township 
for  the  benefit  of  graduates  of  the  eighth  grade  :  Provided  that  where 
a  township  is  divided  by  county  lines  the  county  superintendent  in 
whose  county  the  sixteenth  section  is  situate  shall  have  charge  of  the 
examination  in  such  township. 

Section  3.  All  examinations  shall  be  held  on  the  second  Sat- 
urday of  May  in  each  year,  according  to  rules  and  regulations  pre- 
scribed by  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  and  the  pupil 
found  to  possess  the  highest  qualifications  shall  be  entitled  to  such 
scholarship :  Provided,  however,  that  such  pupil  shall  be  a  resident 
of  the  township  in  which  such  examination  is  held  :  and  provided, 
further,  that  where  no  application  is  received  from  any  township  the 
county  superintendent  shall  assign  the  pupil  found  to  possess  the  next 
highest  qualifications  to  that  township. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  287 

Section  4.  The  county  superintendent  shall  certify  the  names 
and  addresses  of  all  successful  applicants,  with  the  number  (and 
range)  of  the  township  to  which  each  pupil  is  accredited,  to  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  who  shall  issue  to  each  pupil 
a  certificate  of  scholarship  which  shall  be  accepted  by  the  authorities 
of  any  state  normal  school  in  lieu  of  any  entrance  examination,  and 
shall  exempt  the  holder  thereof  from  the  payment  of  tuition  or  any 
term,  matriculation,  or  incidental  fee  whatsoever. 

Section'  5.  Section  7  of  an  act  for  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  a  normal  university,  as  amended  ;  Section  13  of  an  act  to 
establish  and  maintain  the  Southern  Illinois  Normal  University; 
Section  13  of  an  act  to  establish  and  maintain  the  Northern  Illinois 
State  Normal  School;  Section  13  of  an  act  to  establish  and  maintain 
the  Eastern  Illinois  State  Normal  School;  and  Section  13  of  an  act 
to  establish  and  maintain  the  Western  Illinois  State  Normal  School, 
are  hereby  repealed. 

[Approved  May  12,  1905.] 

It  is  the  plan  of  State  Superintendent  Bayliss  to  have  a 
conference  of  the  normal-school  people  and  the  county  super- 
intendents to  settle  on  some  plan  for  awarding  scholarships. 
If  this  act  results  in  many  eighth-grade  pupils  attending  the 
state  normal  schools,  and  if  the  normal  schools  give  these 
eighth-grade  pupils  the  proper  training,  then  future  country 
legislators  can  have  no  just  ground  for  complaint. 

In  my  humble  judgment  the  possibilities  of  this  law  will 
not  be  attained  if  it  merely  results  in  a  number  of  eighth- 
grade  pupils  getting  free  high-school  privileges  at  a  state 
normal  school.  It  may  fairly  be  questioned  whether  a 
state  normal  school  should  have  a  high  school  at  all,  in  view 
of  a  greater  work  needed  in  the  way  of  training  student 
teachers  to  become  efficient  teachers.  It  remains  to  be  seen, 
of  course,  whether  the  offer  of  a  high  school  will  induce 
many  parents  to  send  children  away  from  home  to  get 
this  high-school  work.     It  may  be  claimed,  to  use  a  local 


288       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

illustration,  that  the  country  children  of  Winnebago  County 
can  get  as  good  high-school  training  at  the  city  high  school 
of  Rockford  as  at  any  state  normal  school  of  Illinois.  To 
be  sure,  the  pupils  must  pay  tuition  to  the  local  school, 
but  doubtless  many  of  them  prefer  to  do  this,  since  with 
the  facilities  in  the  way  of  electric  roads  and  the  like 
they  are  able  to  board  at  home.  What  is  needed  on  the 
part  of  the  normal  school  to  make  this  law  most  effective 
is  a  course  of  training  and  study  that  will  enable  these 
eighth-grade  pupils  to  do  fairly  good  work  at  the  end  of 
one  year,  —  something  similar  to  what  the  country  training 
schools  of  Wisconsin  are  doing  for  the  country  schools. 
If  these  eighth-grade  pupils  can  be  induced  to  remain  two 
years,  all  the  better.  There  is  no  doubt  that  some  high- 
school  extension  is  needed  badly  in  Illinois,  but  it  does 
not  seem  proper  to  have  it  come  via  the  state  normal 
school,  if  by  coming  that  way  it  is  a  substitute  for  normal 
training  for  the  student  teachers  who  will  teach  in  the  one- 
room  district  schools  of  the  state. 

But  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  coming  conference  will  agree 
on  some  plan  to  get  out  of  the  law  all  that  was  intended. 

The  reader  is  doubtless  aware  of  most  of  the  principal 
problems  the  inexperienced  teacher  meets  with  in  carry- 
ing out  the  organization  and  administration  of  the  average 
country  school.  I  need  not  enlarge  upon  them  here.  A 
small  school  may  be  one  of  the  best  of  schools,  if  the 
teacher  has  been  trained  to  make  the  most  of  the  material 
and  the  time.  I  give  here  a  daily  programme  of  an  average 
country  school  of  Winnebago  County.  The  school  has  an 
enrollment  of  twelve  pupils,  with  a  daily  attendance  of  nine. 
The  teacher  is  a  graduate  of  a  local  village  high  school 
with  a  four  years'  course  of  study. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS 


289 


Daily  Programme 


Length 

PUPII.S 

Length 

Pupils 

Subject 

OF  Reci- 

IN Each 

Subject 

OF  Reci- 

IN Each 

tation 

Class 

tation 

Class 

Forenoon 

Afternoon 

Opening  Exercises  . 

10  min. 

all 

Opening  Exercises 

5  min. 

all 

Primer 

10    " 

I 

Primer      .... 

10     " 

I 

Second  Reader  (<?) . 

10    " 

3 

Second  Reader  {a) 

10     " 

3 

"         (/;) . 

10    " 

I 

"        {b) 

10     " 

I 

Fourth  Reader  (rf) . 

ID     " 

3 

First  Physiology    . 

10     " 

n 

"         {b) . 

10    " 

2 

Second      " 

10     " 

3 

Literature  .... 

15    " 

I 

U.S.  History     .     . 

10     " 

I 

Language  .... 

15    " 

2 

First  Geography    . 

10     " 

2 

Second       " 

10     " 

3 

Third 

10     " 

I 

A'gcess 

ID      " 

I 

Recess 

Numbers    .... 

•5    " 

4 

Primer       .... 

ID      " 

I 

Arithmetic  Reader. 

10      " 

3 

Arithmetic  Reader 

15      " 

4 

First  Arithmetic 

10    " 

I 

First  Grammar.     . 

ID      " 

3 

Third 

ID      " 

3 

Second      "... 

10      " 

I 

Second       " 

'5    " 

all 

"      Spelling 

10      " 

2 

Writing      .... 

Third 

10      " 

I 

The  reader  at  once  suggests  a  reduction  in  the  number 
of  classes,  so  that  there  would  be  only  one  second-reader 
class,  one  fourth-reader  class,  and  one  physiology  class. 
That  depends  upon  the  local  circumstances,  as  every  one 
acquainted  with  a  country  school  knows  full  well. 

One  more  programme  is  given.  This  is  from  a  school 
that  last  year  had  three  different  teachers  during  the 
school  year  of  eight  months.  One  pupil  in  the  school 
desired  first-year  high-school  work,  so  a  graduate  of  the 
Rockford  High  School  taught  the  following  programme 
for  two  months.  The  school  had  an  enrollment  of  ten 
pupils,  with  a  daily  attendance  of  eight. 


290 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 
Daily  Programme 


Length 

PUPII.S 

Length 

Pupils 

Subject 

OF  Reci- 

IN Each 

Subject 

OF  Reci- 

N Each 

tation 

Class 

tation 

Class 

Forenoon 

Afternoon 

Opening  Exercises  . 

10  min. 

all 

A.  Algebra  .     .     . 

lo  min. 

I 

/>'.   Reading    .     .     . 

lO    " 

I 

C.  Geography   .     . 

7    " 

I 

G. 

lO     " 

2 

D. 

8    " 

I 

D. 

lO     " 

I 

E.  Physiology  .     . 

ID      " 

2 

C. 

10     " 

I 

B,  C.       " 

10     " 

2 

F. 

lO     " 

2 

E.  Language     .     . 

lO      " 

2 

E. 

lO     " 

2 

G.   Spelling  .     .     . 

5    " 

I 

B.  Arithmetic 

lO     " 

I 

A.  Physical  Geog- 

A. Latin    .     . 

10     " 

I 

raphy        .     . 

lO     " 

I 

E.  Geography  .     . 

lO      " 

2 

Recess 

IS    " 

Recess 

•5    " 

D.  Arithmetic    .     . 

lO      " 

I 

B.   History    .     .     . 

lO      " 

I 

C. 

lO      " 

I 

C.       "        ... 

lO      " 

I 

B.  Language 

5    " 

I 

F.  Spelling  .     .     . 

lO      " 

2 

G.  Arithmetic 

10      " 

2 

B,  C,  D.  Spelling . 

IS    " 

3 

F. 

lO      " 

2 

D.  History  .     .     . 

10      " 

I 

E. 

lO      " 

I 

E.  Spelling  .     .     . 

10     " 

2 

D.  Language 

lO      " 

I 

A.  Commercial 

B.  Geography 

lO      " 

I 

Arithmetic 

lO      " 

I 

Here  are  thirty-two  daily  recitations,  nineteen  of  them 
having  one  pupil  each  and  twelve  having  two  pupils  each. 

To  the  state  of  Indiana,  so  far  as  I  know,  belongs  the 
honor  of  having  a  model  country  training  school  in  con- 
nection with  the  State  Normal  School  at  Terre  Haute. 
This  school  has  been  in  successful  operation  for  two  years. 
It  is  a  typical  country  school,  presenting  the  usual  pecul- 
iarities and  difficulties  of  such  a  school.  It  is  located  six 
miles  east  of  Terre  Haute  on  the  interurban  electric  road 
between  Terre  Haute  and  Brazil.    Part  of  the  expense  of 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS 


291 


running  this  school  is  borne  by  the  State  Normal  School 
and  part  by  the  township  in  which  the  school  is  situated. 
This  school  is  used  by  the  students  of  the  Indiana  State 
Normal  School  as  an  observation  and  practice  school,  the 
students  going  there  on  the  interurban  cars.  One  provi- 
sioij  of  the  agreement  between  the  trustees  of  the  normal 
school  and   the  trustees   of    the   township   in   which   this 


off  '    ^*   gfe 

I^^ 

Fig.  133.    A  Model  Country  School  connected  with  the  Indiana 
State  Normal  School 


model  country  school  is  situated  is  "that  the  teacher  dur- 
ing the  seven  months  of  the  school  year  (the  period  during 
which  the  schools  of  the  township  continue)  shall  be  paid 
the  maximum  salary  by  the  trustees  and  a  certain  fixed 
amount  in  addition  by  the  Board  of  the  Indiana  State  Nor- 
mal School,  and  that  during  the  continuance  of  the  school 
beyond  the  seven  months,  so  as  to  complete  the  period  of 
ten  months,  the  teacher  shall  be  paid  by  the  Board  of  the 


292       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Indiana  State  Normal  School."  This  school  is  equipped  as 
it  should  be,  and  is  designed  to  show  what  a  country  school 
should  be  and  what  can  be  done  there  in  the  way  of  effect- 
ive work.  The  following  very  interesting  and  valuable 
letter  is  self-explanatory. 

Indiana  State  Normal  School, 
TekrI':  Haute,  Indiana,  July  26,   1905 

Superintendent  O.  J.  Kern,  Rockford,  Illinois 

Dear  Mr.  Kern:  It  affords  me  pleasure  to  furnish  you  the  infor- 
mation you  request  concerning  the  country  training  scliool  which  is 
connected  with  our  school. 

Answers  to  questions : 

1.  Number  of  children  enrolled?    y^«j.  Fifty-two. 

Note.  This  enrollment  was  too  large,  but  could  not  be  avoided 
last  year.  We  have  an  understanding  that  the  enrollment  is  not  to 
exceed  about  thirty,  on  account  of  accommodations. 

2.  Average  attendance  ?    ^;/j.  Forty. 

Note.  This  is  for  ten  months,  and  six  graduated  at  the  middle  of 
the  year. 

3.  Qualifications  of  training  teacher  in  charge?  Ans.  She  is  a 
high-school  graduate  and  a  graduate  of  the  Normal  College  at  Ypsi- 
lanti,  Michigan. 

4.  Salary  of  training  teacher?  Ans.  She  is  paid  by  township 
trustee  fifty-five  dollars  per  month,  and  by  the  normal  school  board 
fifty  dollars  per  month.  Total,  one  hundred  and  five  dollars  per 
month. 

5.  How  do  student  teachers  get  to  this  school?  Ans.  The  students 
get  to  school  by  means  of  the  interurban  car.  It  costs  them  twenty 
cents  per  round  trip. 

6.  How  many  student  teachers  at  a  time  do  observation  work  at 
this  country  training  school?  Ans.  Every  student  who  reaches  the 
practice  work  in  the  normal  school  spends  from  one  to  three  weeks 
in  observation  and  teaching  in  the  training  school.  They  are  sent  there 
in  groups  of  from  eight  to  fifteen,  as  the  circumstances  determine. 
Then  observation  classes  are  taken  there  for  observation  in  a  body, 
depending  upon  the  size  of  the  class,  but  they  are  only  taken  there 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS 


293 


a  few  times  in  a  term  (three  months).  Other  students,  by  their 
request,  are  allowed  to  observe  as  often  as  they  wish.  This  is  all 
under  the  direction  of  the  Department  of  Methods,  Observation,  and 
Practice  in  the  normal  school. 

7.  Something  in  general  of  the  character  of  the  work  done  in  this 
school?  A/is.  The  effort  is  to  make  this  a  first-class  country  school. 
They  follow  the  course  made  by  the  state  superintendent  for  such 
schools  and  try  to  do  the  work  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of 
education.  We  endeavor  to  do  as  good  work  there  as  we  do  in  the 
city  training  school.  The  teacher  is  just  as  careful  about  her  assign- 
ments and  her  presentation  as  if  she  had  only  one  grade  to  teach. 

8.  The  course  of  study  for  this  school?  A /is.  The  regularly 
adopted  state  course. 

A'ofe.  This  is  so  from  choice.  We  have  the  right  to  modify  it  if 
we  wish,  but,  as  I  said,  our  aim  is  to  conduct  a  first-class  country 
school  according  to  the  science  of  education  under  the  conditions 
they  have  given  them. 


9.   Daily  programme: 

8.30  Opening  Exercises. 

8.45  Penmanship  (all  grades). 

S.55  Music  (grades  1-4  and  5-7). 

9.05  Reading  (second  grade). 

9.15  Reading  (first  grade). 

9.30  Arithmetic  (seventh  grade)., 

9.45  Arithmetic  (fourth  grade). 
10.00  Arithmetic  (third  grade). 
10.15  Arithmetic  (first  grade). 
10.30  jRecess. 

fGeography  (seventh 
10.45  ^       g'ade),  or  History  (sec- 

L  end  and  third  grades). 
1 1. 00  Arithmetic  (second  grade). 
I  i.io  Spelling orReading(seventh 

grade). 
11.25  Reading  (fourth  grade). 
11.40  Spelling  (third  grade). 
11.50  Spelling  (first  grade). 
11.55  Spelling  (second  grade). 
12.00  A'oon  Intermission. 


12.40  Reading  (first  grade). 
12.50  Grammar  (seventh  grade). 
1.05  Spelling  (fourth  grade). 
1. 1 5  Language  (second  and  third 

grades). 
1.30  Geography  or  History  (fourth 

grade). 
1.45  Physiology orReading  (seventh 

grade). 
2.00  Reading  (third  grade). 
2.15  Arithmetic  (second  grade). 
2.25  Reading  (first  grade). 
2.35  Physical  Culture  (all  grades). 
2.40  Language  (fourth  grade). 
2.55  History  or  Geography  (seventh 

grade). 
3.10  Nature    Study   (second   and 

third  grades). 
3.20  History  or  Geography  (third 

grade). 
3.30  Discussion  with  student  teachers. 


294       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Note.  The  above  programme  is  frequently  varied  to  accommodate 
the  work  of  the  normal  students. 

10.  What  expense  to  students  who  attend,  in  the  way  of  tuition, 
etc.  ?    Ans.  None  except  their  car  fare  to  and  from  school. 

11.  What  do  you  regard  as  the  most  important  features  of  this 
school  ?  Ans.  First,  that  it  affords  an  opportunity  for  student  teachers 
to  study  the  country-school  problem  in  a  tirst-class  school ;  second,  it 
furnishes  a  good  standard  country-school  work  for  teachers  and  school 
officers  to  visit,  and  thus  gradually  elevates  the  standard  of  country- 
school  work ;  third,  it  meets  in  a  practical  way  the  question  we  are 
asked  so  often  in  our  normal  classes,  —  "  This  theory  may  be  all  right 
for  city  schools,  but  will  it  work  in  the  country  schools? " 

Note.  That  the  school  is  accomplishing  something  under  the 
second  point  may  be  seen  from  the  following  facts  :  first,  during  the 
last  school  year  (ten  months)  there  were  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  visitors  to  this  school ;  second,  they  were  from  eleven  different 
counties  of  Indiana  (some  of  the  near  counties  have  sent  all  their 
teachers  for  a  day's  visit  in  the  school);  third,  several  were  from  Illi- 
nois and  one  from  Buenos  Ayres,  South  America. 

N^ote.  It  is  fair  to  say  that  the  one  from  South  America  did  not  come 
to  Terre  Haute  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  country  training  school. 

Now  if  I  have  provoked  any  other  questions,  I  should  be  glad  to 
answer  them  if  I  can.    I  will  mail  photos  as  soon  as  finished. 

Very  truly  yours, 

A.  R.  Charman, 

Head  o/  Departiiie/it  of  Methods, 
Observation,  and  Practice 

Perhaps  Illinois  is  to  have  the  second  model  country 
school  in  connection  with  a  state  normal  school ;  for  .State 
Superintendent  Alfred  BayHss,  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Western  Illinois  Normal  School,  in  a  letter 
to  me  dated  July  22,  1905,  says  : 

You  can  say  that  the  training  school  at  Macomb  is  a  very  com- 
plete one  and  has  as  part  of  its  organization  a  typical  country  school, 
located  in  the  country,  and  in  which  one  of  the  most  competent  critic 
teachers  is  employed.  This  school  is  available  for  observation  purposes 


THE  TRAININCi  OF  TEACHERS  295 

to  all  students  of  the  normal  school,  and  some  practice  in  it  is 
required  of  every  graduate.  There  is  also  a  school  for  individual 
instruction,  to  which  pupils  of  the  grades,  up  to  a  certain  number, 
who  may  have  become  irregular  and  unclassifiable  by  reason  of  sick- 
ness, other  necessary  absence  from  school,  indolence,  or  slow  devel- 
opment are  admitted,  and  whatever  is  necessary  to  help  them  over 
temporary  rough  places  is  done. 

The  reader  will  note  that  in  the  cases  of  model  country 
schools  in  Indiana  and  Illinois  the  location  is  in  the  coun- 
try,   in    country   environment.     One   may    say,   Why  not 


Fig.  134.    An  Interior  View  of  the  Model  Country  School  connected 
with  the  Indiana  State  Xonnal  School 

build  a  model  country-school  building  on  the  campus  of 
the  normal  school  and  take  the  children  there  from  some 
district  school  in  the  country }  Such  a  school  is  not  a 
country  school.  It  is  not  in  country  environment.  The 
same  objections  hold  here  that  obtain  in  the  proposal  to 
consolidate  surrounding  country  districts  with  a  large  city 
and  send  the  country  child  to  the  city  school  by  wagon 
or  trolley  line.    We  must  not  give  up  the  country  school. 


296       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

If  it  is  a  consolidated  school,  let  it  be  a  consolidated  coiai- 
try  school.  A  small  village  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  or 
two  hundred  people  is  essentially  country. 

Wisconsin  has  gone  one  step  farther  by  establishing  county 
training  schools  for  county  schools.  These  training  schools 
exist  for  a  specific  purpose,  namely,  to  train  teachers  for 
the  work  of  teaching  in  the  one-room  district  school. 

State  Superintendent  Gary,  of  Wisconsin,  says  of  these 
county  training  schools  : 

It  may  be  said  without  exaggeration  that  counties  which  main- 
tain these  county  training  schools  have,  as  a  general  thing,  a  corps 
of  country  teachers  above  the  average  in  efficiency.  In  the  immediate 
future,  without  doubt,  more  of  them  will  be  established.  In  addition 
to  the  training  of  teachers  to  do  actual  teaching  in  the  country 
schools,  these  county  training  schools  have  become  feeders  for  the 
state  normal  schools,  and  have  furnished  a  very  desirable  product. 
The  course  of  study  consists  of  branches  that  are  required  to  be 
taught  in  the  common  schools. 

The  counties  of  Buffalo,  Dunn,  Marathon,  Manitowoc, 
Richland,  Waupaca,  and  Wood,  in  1904  maintained  county 
training  schools. 

Course  of  Study  for  Dunn  County  Training  School 
First  Quarter  Third  Quarter 

Reading,  Orthoepy.  History,  Manual. 

Arithmetic,  Manual.  Civics. 

Grammar,  English  Composition,  Geography,  Physical. 

Manual.  Physiology. 
Psychology. 

Second  Quarter  Fourth  Quarter 

Reading,  Manual.  History. 

Arithmetic.  Geography,  Manual. 

Grammar,  English  Composition,  Observation  and  Practice. 

^^^""al-  Agriculture. 
Theory-  and  Art  Teaching. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  297 

Library  readings  and  rhetoricals  given  throughout  the  course. 

Spelling  and  penmanship  given  as  needed. 

Algebra  will  be  allowed  to  those  who  apply  for  it  and  whose  regu- 
lar work  will  permit. 

The  normal  is  to  prepare  teachers  for  the  rural  schools  of  Dunn 
County,  and  tuition  is  free  to  students  of  the  county.  Nonresidents 
are  charged  forty  dollars  a  year  tuition.  Nonresidents  are  admitted 
on  the  same  basis  as  other  students  when  there  is  room. 

It  was  my  pleasure  to  attend  the  graduating  exercises  of 
the  Dunn  County  Training  School  in  June,  1905.  The 
practical  benefit  of  these  schools  can  be  best  understood 
from  those  at  work  in  them.  Here  follows  the  report  of 
the  principal  of  the  Dunn  County  Teachers'  Training 
School  at  Menomonie  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1904  : 

To  the  County  Superintendent^  H.  E.  Layne,  Dunn  County,  Wis- 
consin : 

Permit  me  to  render  to  you  the  fifth  annual  report  of  the  Dunn 
County  Teachers'  Training  School. 

The  total  enrollment  for  the  year  has  been  seventy-four.  Had 
there  been  no  limitations  placed  upon  appHcants  by  an  entrance 
examination,  there  would  have  been  an  enrollment  of  about  ninety. 

The  school  has  graduated  thirty-seven  students  this  year,  twenty- 
four  of  whom  taught  during  the  spring  term.  These  twenty-four  com- 
pleted the  course  in  April,  but  did  not  take  their  diplomas  until  the 
close  of  the  year,  June  24.  We  hear  their  work  well  spoken  of  by 
the  patrons  of  the  several  districts  where  they  have  taught. 

The  number  of  graduates  produced  by  the  training  school  since 
it  started  is  one  hundred  and  forty-eight.  Of  this  number  ten  have 
worked  for  a  season  in  the  schools ;  two  have  gone  to  the  Superior 
State  Normal,  three  to  Stevens  Point,  and  five  to  River  Falls. 

The  presidents  of  these  schools  have  each  made  a  satisfactory 
report  upon  the  attainments  of  these  students  upon  entering  these 
state  schools.  Each  of  the  ten  has  entered  the  normal  without  being 
required  to  take  an  entrance  examination,  and  four  have  completed 
the  elementary  course. 


298  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

We  have  undertaken  a  measure  this  year  which  seems  to  have 
given  a  great  stimulus  to  the  teaching  power  of  our  students  in  the 
country  schools.  Through  the  wisdom  of  the  local  board,  it  was 
made  possible  for  the  training-school  faculty  to  spend  some  time  in 
visiting  our  student  body  while  at  actual  work  in  their  several  schools. 
Thirty-six  of  these  visits  were  made  where  they  seemed  to  be  most 
needed.  It  is  the  judgment  of  the  principal  that  no  better  service  has 
ever  been  rendered  to  the  schools  of  Dunn  County. 

We  believe  the  school  has  done  a  strong  year's  work,  and  it 
is  sufficiently  popular  in  the  state  and  county  to  warrant  its  con- 
tinuance. 

There  are  about  thirty-five  this  year's  students  who  are  held  over 
into  next  year,  besides  thirty  applicants  to  date,  who  have  notified  the 
principal  of  their  intention  to  take   the   entrance   examination   next 
fall.  Many  more  will  write  next  fall  than  have  applied  this  time. 
Respectfully  yours, 

W.  L.  Morrison 

The  expense  of  these  county  training  schools  is  borne 
jointly  by  the  state  and  the  county  in  which  the  school  is 
located.  Michigan  is  following  the  lead  of  Wisconsin  in 
establishing  county  training  schools. 

At  Menomonie,  Wisconsin,  during  the  summer  of  1905, 
the  Dunn  County  School  of  Agriculture,  a  different  insti- 
tution from  the  County  Training  School  or  the  Menomonie 
City  School,  conducted  a  teachers'  institute  and  summer 
school  for  teachers  of  common  schools.  The  following  out- 
line indicates  the  character  of  the  work  done  : 


Summer-School  Topics  in  Domestic  Economy 

Home  economy  :  General  care  of  the  home;  drainage  around 
house ;  arrangement  of  house ;  care  of  rooms  (sweeping, 
dusting,  etc.);  floors  and  their  treatment;  walls  and  wall 
coverings ;  ventilation  of  house  ;  household  pests. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS 


299 


n. 


III. 


Sewing:  Hand  needlework;  all  stitches  used  in  plain  sewing; 
mending,  patching,  and  darning ;  sewing  on  buttons  ;  button- 
holes. 
Cooking:   Kitchen  range;   fire;   draughts;   oven  tests;   foods. 
Principles  of  cooking ;  experiments  to  show  effect  of  heat 

on  eggs,  meats,  etc.;  composition  of  foods. 
Proteids,  or  tissue-building  foods,  as  casein  of  milk,  albumen 
of  egg",  albumen  of  meat,  gluten  of  wheat. 


Fig.  135.    A  Teachers'  Training  School  at  Menomonie,  Wisconsin 

Carbohydrates,  or  energy-producing  foods,  as  starches  of 

potato,  wheat  and  other  grains.    Iodine  test  for  starch. 
Fats,  or  heat-producing  foods. 
Water, — its  value  in  the  diet.   ^  — 
IV.    Food  sets:  Their  preparation.    Food  sets  are  to  show  the  rela- 
tive amounts  of  the  various  nutriments  in  our  common  foods. 
V.    Laundry  work :   Removal  of  stains  ;  fixation  of  colors;  wash- 
ing powders  and  bluings  ;  treatment  of  silks,  flannels,  laces, 
embroideries,  etc. 
VI.    Emergencies  :  Hemorrhages  ;  dressing  of  wounds  ;  bandaging  ; 
treatment  of  burns  ;  fire  ;  drowning  ;  poisons  and  antidotes. 
VII.    School  hygiene :  Ventilation  of  schoolroom  ;  lighting  of  school- 
room ;  position  of  pupils. 


300  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Topics  in  Agriculture  for  School-Teachers 

I.  Practice  and  principles  of  pruning. 

II.  Practice  andprincipies  of  grafting;  startinghome  fruitgardens. 

III.  Methods  of  seed  testing. 

IV.  Treatment  of  grains  for  prevention  of  s /nut. 
V.  Treatment  of  potatoes  for  prevention  of  scab. 

VI.    Simple  spraying  mixtures. 

VII.    Treatment  of  clover  and  other  legumes  with  nitrogenfxing 
bacteria. 
VIII.   Plans  for  school  gardens:  How  to  lay  out  and  prepare  ground  ; 
what  plants  and  seeds  to  use,  and  how ;  where  to  secure 
plants  and  §eeds  free ;  the  question  of  tools ;  care  of  growing 
garden  plants. 
IX.    Plannittg  school  grounds  for  improvement  and  beauty :  What 
to  plant  and  how  to  get  plants ;  where  to  plant  vines,  trees, 
shrubs,  etc.;  how  to  plant  and  care  for  plants. 
Ten  to  two  hundred  or  less  of  the  best  experiments  concerning 
soils,  crops,  weeds,  insects,  diseases,  etc.,  outlined  in  Rural  School 
Agriculture.    (This  manual  is  available  free  for  all  rural  districts  in 
Dunn  County.) 

Topics  in  Manual  Training  for  all  School-Teachers 

I.  Woodwork  :  Simple  preliminary  exercises  introducing  the  knife, 
ruler,  square,  saw,  hammer,  plane,  chisel,  brace  bit,  etc.  (Dunn 
County  rural  schools  have  the  free  use  of  a  number  of  suitable 
and  excellent  tool  sets,  through  the  beneficent  interest  of  Sen- 
ator Stout.) 

The  woodwork  to  conform  to  the  environment  of  the  country 
boy  or  girl,  and  to  be  of  such  practical  nature  as  to  com- 
mend the  work  to  the  country  patron. 
II.   Models  in  woodwork :  Plant  label,  fish-line  winder,  pencil  sharp- 
ener, book  rack,  sled,  pen  rack,  mail  box,  desk  letter  box,  bushel 
box,  applied  models  of  schoolroom  ventilation. 
III.   Rope  tying  and  splicing :  The  long  splice,  valuable  on  the  farm 
for  mending  hay  ropes. 

Tying  knots  :  Knots  for  end  of  rope,  the  square  knot,  the  bow- 
line, half  hitch,  and  timber  hitch. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  30 1 

IV.    Paper  and  card  work:  Perceptional  cutting:  massive  objects  ; 
smaller  objects  grouped  to  show  social  ideas ;  free  cutting  of 
familiar  objects. 
Conceptional    cutting:    Poses;    animals;    animals   in   action; 

figures  illustrating  familiar  songs,  stories,  trades,  and  games. 
Symmetrical  cutting  :  Half  fold  (geometrical  forms  of  familiar 

objects);  fourth  fold  and  eighth  fold  (ditto);  geometrical 

forms  repeated  to  make  simple  border  and  center  designs ; 

weather  signals. 

The  Normal  School  at  New  Paltz,  New  York,  has  begun 
a  series  of  important  educational  conferences  for  the  pur- 
pose of  helping  the  country  school  to  become  the  power 
that  it  should  be  in  the  new  country  life  now  upon  us. 
The  country  school-teachers,  school  officers,  and  influential 
patrons  are  invited  to  confer  with  the  normal-school  faculty 
regarding  the  best  means  of  promoting  the  welfare  of 
the  country  districts,  —  of  enabling  the  country  school  to 
vitalize  the  lives  of  the  young  people  living  on  the  farms, 
—  and  how  a  normal  school  can  help  in  this  work. 

Some  of  the  subjects  being  considered  are  the  prepara- 
tion of  normal-school  students  in  manual  training,  home 
science,  and  in  important  branches  of  agriculture  and 
handicraft;  the  institution  of  traveling  libraries  from  school 
to  school  ;  the  improvement  of  school  buildings  and  the 
beautifying  of  school  grounds;  the  school  garden,  etc. 

A  course  of  lectures  in  contemporary  educational  prob- 
lems was  given  recently  at  Teachers  College,  Columbia 
Univ^ersity,  New  York  City.  The  following  bibliography 
was  prepared  by  Principal  Myron  Scudder,  of  the  New 
Paltz  Normal  School,  for  use  in  his  lecture  on  Country 
Schools  and  the  Teaching:  of  Asfriculture  : 


302  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


Bibliography 

List  of  articles  on  consolidation,  centralization,  transportation,  etc. 
(very  comprehensive  and  carefully  compiled  by  State  Superintend- 
ent Fowler,of  Nebraska),  National  Educational  Association  report, 
1903,  pages  924-929. 

*'  Bibliography  of  School  Gardens,"  Carter,  State  Normal  School, 
Greeley,  Colorado,  March,  1904. 

Reports  of  the  National  Educational  Association 

"  The  Rural-School  Problem."    Circular  of  Information  No.  5  (Sabin 

et  al.),  July,  1895. 
Report  of  the  Committee  of  Twelve,  pages  383-385,  1897. 
Report  of  the   Committee  on  Industrial  Education  in  Schools  for 

Rural  Communities  (published  in  separate  pamphlet),  1905. 
(See  also  the  index  in  reports  for  1894,  1895,  1897,  1901,  1903,  and 

1904.) 

Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education 

Year        Volume  Paob  Subject 

1893-1894       I         288-289  "School    Gardens   in    Berlin    Common 

Schools." 
1894-1895       I         380-403  "  Rural  Schools  in  Germany." 
II      1457-1467  "  The  School  District." 
II     1469-1482  "  Conveyance  of  Children  to  School." 
1895-1S96     II      1199-1206  "  How  Agriculture  is  Taught  in  Prussia 

and  France." 
1 253  u  Transportation  of  Children  to  School." 
1 896-1 897       I  79  "Rural  Schools  in  Denmark." 

I         81 1-873   Report  of  the  Committee  of  Twelve. 
^I  153  s  "  Conveyance  of  Children  to  School." 

1 897-1 898       I  224  "School  Gardens  in  Europe." 

^^  1614  "Instruction  in  Agriculture  in  the  Nor- 

mal Schools  of  France." 
^I  1623  "  Gardener's  Schools  in  Russia." 

^I  1623   "  School  Gardens  in  Russia." 

^^  '701    "  Conveyance  of  Children  to  School.'- 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  303 

Year        Volume         Page  Subject 

1898-1899       I  1067-1082  "  School  Gardens." 

1899-1900     II  1447  "  School  Gardens  in  Sweden." 

II  2581    "Transportation  of  Pupils  to  School." 

1901  161-212  "Consolidation  of  Schools  and  Trans- 

portation of  Pupils." 

1902  650  "Agriculture  in  Rural  Schools." 
752-754  "  Agricultural  Schools  in  Italy." 

Foreign  Reports 

1902  New  South  Wales:   Department  of  Public  Instruction,  con- 

ference of  inspectors,  etc.,  pages  122,  143,  158. 

1903  New  South  Wales  :  Interim  report  of  the  commissioners  on 

certain  parts  of  primary  education,  pages  66,  78,  95,  100, 
116,  117,  119. 

1904  New  South  Wales:  Report  of  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruc- 

tion for  the  year  1903,  pages  87,  92,98,  108,  113,  133,  134. 
Rapports  du  jury  internationale :  Groupe  i,  Education  et 
enseignement.  Premiere  Partie — Classei.  See  references 
to  Austria,  Belgium,  Bosnia,  Herzegovina,  Bulgaria,  Finland, 
and  Hungary. 

The  Rural-School  Problem 

"  Rural  Schools  :  Progress  in  the  Past ;  Means  of  Improvement  in  the 
Future."  Circular  of  Information  No.  6,  Bureau  of  Education,  1884. 

"  Some  Problems  of  the  Rural  Common  School."  A.  C.  True.  Re- 
print from  the  yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  1901. 

"  Study  of  the  Rural  Schools  of  Maine."  Superintendent  Stetson, 
1895.  - 

"  The  Rural-School  Problem  in  Massachusetts."  Fletcher,,  agent  of 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Education. 

'•  Evolution  of  the  Rural-School  System  :  Present  Status  in  Michigan." 
Burnham,  in  Proceedings  of  fifty-second  annual  meeting  Michigan 
State  Teachers'  Association,  1905. 

"  Rural  Schools  and  how  to  Improve  Them,"  and  other  articles.  Insti- 
tute Bulletin  No.  11,  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  Michigan,  1905. 

'•Conditions  and  Needs  of  Iowa  Rural  Schools."  State  Superintend- 
ent Riggs,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 


304  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Rural  Sociology 

"Social  Problems  of  the  Farmer."  Publications  of  the  Michigan 
Political  Science  Association,  Ann  Arbor,  Vol.  IV,  No.  6,  July, 
1902.    $1.00. 

"  Federation  of  Rural  Social  Forces "  (reprint).  Butterfield,  American 
League  for  Civic  Improvement,  Chicago. 

"  Social  Phases  of  Agricultural  Education."  Butterfield,  American 
Journal  of  Sociology,  Vol.  X,  No.  5,  March,  1905. 

"  Social  Phases  of  Agricultural  Education."  Butterfield,  Popular  Sci- 
ence Monthly,  August,  1905. 


Consolidation  and  Transportation 

"  Consolidation,  etc.,  and  the  Conveyance  of  Children."  Fletcher, 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Education. 

"  Consolidation,"  etc.  State  Superintendent  Cary.  See  eleventh 
biennial  report  of  the  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Wis- 
consin, 1902-1904. 

"Consolidation  of  Country  Schools."  University  of  lUinois  Bulletin, 
Vol.  II,  No.  3,  December,  1904. 

"  Report  of  a  Visit  to  the  Cfentralized  Schools  of  Ohio."  Superintend- 
ent O.  J.  Kern,  Rockford,  Illinois.  See  also  his  annual  reports  for 
1901,  1902,  1903,  1904,  and  1905  (especially  1905),  profusely 
illustrated. 

School  Gardens 

Nature  Leaflets,  Nos.  29,  30,  31,  and  32.  Massachusetts  State  Board 
of  Agriculture. 

"  Philadelphia  School  Gardens."    Civic  Club,  Philadelphia. 

"Municipal  School  Gardens."  Board  of  Public  Education,  Phila- 
delphia. 

"School  Gardens."  B.  T.  Galloway,  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Bulletin  No.  160,  1905. 

"How  to  Make  School  Gardens."  Hemenway.  Doubleday,  Page  & 
Co.    $1.00. 

"  Hints  and  Helps  for  Young  Gardeners."    Hemenway.    35  cents. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS 


305 


"  School-Garden  Movement."  Spillman,  Reports  of  American  Civic 
Association,  Philadelphia,  Vol.  VI,  Part  III;  and  Vol.  VII, 
Part  III.    25  cents  each. 

TeacJiing  Agriculiure  in  Country  Schools 

Report  of  Commissioner  on  Teaching  Agriculture,  etc.  Circular  No.  32, 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

"  Elementary  Agriculture  in  our  Public  Schools."  Dumas,  Tlie 
N'orf/ial Se/nina>-,  State  Normal  School,  Cheney,  Washington.  50 
cents. 

"Agricultural  Instruction  in  District  Schools."  Report  of  State  Super- 
intendent Harvey,  Wisconsin,  1902. 

Bulletin  of  Information  No.  8.  Issued  by  Superintendent  Harvey, 
1902. 

"Rural  School  Agriculture."  Bulletin  No.  i,  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, University  of  Minnesota,  St.  Anthony  Park,  Minnesota. 


Fig.  136.    Teacher  and  Pupils  in  a  Rural  School 
in  Dunn  County,  Wisconsin 


Cotirses  of  Study  and  Methods  of  Instruction,  including  Agriculture 
and  Nature  Study 

"Course  of  Study  for  the  Common  Schools  of  Illinois"  (third  gen- 
eral revision),  August,  1903.  Published  by  C.  M.  Parker,  Taylor- 
ville,  Illinois.     25  cents. 

"  Course  of  Study  for  Elementary  Schools."  New  York  State  Educa- 
tional Department,  Albany,  1905. 

"  Manual  for  the  Use  of  Members  of  County  Teachers'  Institutes." 
State  of  Maine,  Educational  Department. 


3o6  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Helps  for  Teachers  —  Bulletins,  etc. 

"The  Nature  Guard"  (monthly).  Rhode  Island  College  of  Agricul- 
ture, Kingston,  Rhode  Island. 

"  Reading  Course  for  Farmers."  Cornell  University  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station. 

"  Reading  Course  for  Farmers'  Wives."  Cornell  University  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station. 

"  Teachers'  Leaflets  on  Nature  Study."  Cornell  University  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station. 

"The  Study  of  Farm  Crops "  (monthly).  University  of  Illinois. 
Published  by  C.  M.  Parker,  Taylorville,  111.    25  cents  per  year. 

Also  free  bulletins  from  Illinois  Experiment  Station,  Urbana,  Illinois  ; 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Madison,  Wisconsin;  Iowa 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Ames,  Iowa;  and  other  similar 
stations. 


Text-Books  in  Agriculture 

"  Development  of  the  Text-Book  of  Agriculture  in  North  America." 

L.  H.  Bailey,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  (reprint 

from  annual  report,  1903). 
"Principles  of  Agriculture"  ($1.25);    "Garden  Making"  ($1.00); 

"  Practical  Garden  Book  "  ($1 .00).    L.  H.  Bailey.    The  Macmillan 

Company,  New  York. 
"Agriculture  for  Beginners."    Burkett,  Stevens,  and  Hill.    Ginn  & 

Company.    75  cents. 
"  New  Elementary  Agriculture  "  (for  rural  schools).     C.  E.  Bessey  et 

al.   University  Publishing  Company,  Lincoln,  Nebraska.  60  cents. 
"  First  Principles  of  Agriculture."    Edw.  B.  Voorhees.     Silver,  Bur- 

dett  &  Co.    75  cents. 
"Principles  of  Agriculture  for  Common  Schools."    I.  O.  Winslow. 

American  Book  Company.    60  cents. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  307 

In  the  Magazines  ■ 
(See  also  Carter's  "  Bibliography  of  School  Gardens") 

Arena:  "Value  of  School  Farms"  (Gordon),  XXIII,  pages  544-553, 
May,  1900. 

Charities:  "  Children's  Farm  School  in  New  York  City"  (F.  G.  Par- 
sons), XI,  pages  220-223,  September  5,  1903. 

Charities :  "Junior  School  of  Horticulture  in  St.  Louis"  (Stevens), 
XI,  pages  223-224. 

Current  Literature :  "Agricultural  Education  on  the  Continent " 
(De  Reimer),  XXVII,  pages  57-68,  January,  1900. 

Education:  "How  the  Common  Schools  can  Help  the  Farmer" 
(Warren),  XV'II,  pages  417-425,  March,  1897;  "Courses  of 
Study  in  Agriculture"  (Bogen),  XXVII,  pages  89-94,  October, 
1 901;  "The  Enrichment  of  Rural  School  Life"  (Jones),  XXII, 
pages  373-377- 

Educational  Review :  "  School  Garden  in  Thuringia "  (Lukens), 
XVI  I,  pages  237-241 ;  "  Newer  Ideas  "  (Bailey),  XX,  pages  377- 
382;  "Significant  Factor  in  Agricultural  Education"  (Butter- 
field),  XXI,  pages  301-306  ;  "Rural  Schools  in  France"  (Anna  T. 
Smith),  XXIV,  pages  471-483. 

Fortnightly  Review :  "  Present-Day  Need  in  Agricultural  Education  " 
(Tremayne),  LXXIX,  pages  1 068-1 092,  June,  1903. 

Forum:  "University  Extension  in  Agriculture"  (True),  XXVIII, 
pages  701-707,  February,  1900;  "  Bussey  Institution"  (Hersey), 
V,  pages  558-560. 

Independent :  "Agriculture  in  the  Public  Schools,"  LV,  pages  1641- 
1642,  July  9,  1903. 

Journal  of  Education  :  "Agriculture  in  Schools"  (Whittaker),  XLV, 
page  320,  May  20,  1897. 

Nation:  "Rural  Education  in  France,"  LXXI,  page  231,  September 
20,  1900. 

New  England  Magazine :  "  Government  of  Bovs  for  Boys  by  Boys  " 
(Thrasher),  New  Series,  XXII,  pages  193-208,  April,  1900. 

Popular  Science  Monthly :  "Agricultural  Education  on  the  Conti- 
nent," LVI,  pages  218-233,  December,  1899  ;  "American  Agricul- 
tural Education  "  (Butterfield),  LXIII,  pages  257-261,  July,  1903, 


3o8       AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Public  Opinion  :  "  Opening  of  a  National  School  Farm  (for  Jews)  at 
Doylestown,  Pennsylvania,"  XXIII,  page  44,  July  8,  1897. 

Review  of  Reviews  :  "  State  as  a  Farmer  "  (Ellis),  XIX,  pages  706- 
709,  June,  1899^  "Our  Farmer  Youth  and  the  Public  Schools" 
(Ellis),  XXVIII,  pages  449-455,  October,  1903;  "Learning  by 
Doing  for  the  Farmer  Boy"  (Kern),  XXVIII,  pages  456-461. 

Scientific  American :  "  Children's  School  Farm  in  the  Heart  of  a 
Great  City"  (describes  Mrs.  Parsons's  great  work),  LXXXIX, 
page  279,  October  17,  1903. 

The  World's  Work :  "  Teaching  Farmers'  Children  on  the  Ground" 
(lies),  VI,  pages  3415-3420,  May,  1903  ;  "  Farmer  Children  Need 
Farmer  Education"  (Poe),  VI,  pages  3760-3762. 

Yale  Review :  "City  Farm  Training  Schools,"  pages  95-97,  May,  1898. 

Michigan,  like  Wisconsin,  is  moving  along  the  line  of 
improving  the  country  schools  by  improving  the  teachers 
for  country  schools  in  special  training  classes  in  the  county 
normal  schools,  and  in  1903  eight  such  normal  schools 
were  in  operation.  In  June,  1904,  eighty-six  young  people 
graduated  from  the  one-year  course  and  went  into  the 
country  schools  to  teach.  The  average  age  of  the  graduates 
was  twenty  years.  The  minimum  age  at  which  certificates 
to  teach  may  be  granted  is  eighteen  years.  By  September, 
1904,  twenty  normal  schools  for  country  teachers  were  in 
operation,  an  increase  of  twelve  over  1903.  State  Super- 
intendent Fall,  in  his  report  for  1904,  advocates  trained 
teachers  and  consolidation  as  two  very  efficient  means  of 
improving  the  country  schools. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

MANUAL   TRAINING    IN    THE    COUNTRY  SCHOOL 

The  following  quotation  from  a  recent  article  by  Cal- 
vin Milton  Woodward  on  "Manual  Training:  Theory  and 
Method"  (see  the  Outlook,  December  i6,  1905)  will  serve 
as  a  good  introduction  for  this  chapter.  This  quotation 
expresses  the  experience,  no  doubt,  of  thousands  of  boys 
raised  on  the  farm,  and  the  purpose  of  the  chapter  is  to 
secure,  if  possible,  a  different  system  of  training  in  the1:oun- 
try  school  and  in  the  country  home  that  will  give  a  richer 
experience  to  the  country  boys  and  girls  of  the  future. 

Says  Mr.  Woodward  : 

We  are  frequently  told  that  the  boy  from  the  farm  has  had  manual 
training;  and  it  is  true  that  he  has  had  some  manual  training,  but  he 
has  had  a  great  deal  of  manual  labor  with  it.  I  know,  because  I  was 
a  farm  boy  and  learned  everything  that  could  be  learned  on  a  farm 
previous  to  my  college  course.  I  learned  to  use  correctly  the  hoe, 
the  shovel,  the  plow,  the  scythe,  the  cradle,  and  the  ax ;  but  I  never 
learned  the  proper  use  of  bench  tools,  nor  had  we  a  machine  tool  of 
any  kind  till  the  mowing  machine  and  the  reaper  came.  I  knew  noth- 
ing of  drawing,  nothing  of  the  mechanic  arts,  properly  so  called.  Nine- 
teen twentieths  of  my  time  was  spent  simply  in  hard  labor,  which  had 
no  education  beyond  an  incidental  and  imperfect  knowledge  of  crops 
and  soils  and  the  market.  Manual  training  would  have  been  of  great 
value  and  a  few  lessons  would  have  saved  me  much  time  and  money. 

Because  the  average  farmer  has  not  yet  distinguished 
the  difference  between  manual  training  and  manual  labor, 
the  former  will  be  slow  in  coming  into  the  country  school. 

309 


3IO 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


But  it  will  surely  come ;  indeed,  it  is  already  here  in  many 
places.  Manual  training  is  a  phase  of  industrial  training 
for  the  country  school.  It  is  a  little  unfortunate  that  we 
do  not  have  a  better  term  to  express  this  thought  ;  for  a 
great  many  excellent  people  to-day,  moving  along  the  edu- 
cational avenue  that  leads  up  to  the  public  school,  shy  and 
stop  still  at  the  sight  of  the  word  "industrial"  as  applied 


'■^f'^         ;■  ,.,;- 

w 

fc 

i 

iB    ly^^H 

Hiiii 

JLi 

t»i*«»#«3>i.-^  "■ 

f    III! 

MKa 

r 

•     -1  i^ 

Fig.  137.    The  Beginning  of  Manual  Training  in  a  Country 
School  of  Winnebago  County,  Illinois 

to  the  work  of  the  public  school.  Any  attempt  to  lead  them 
closer  for  a  more  careful  inspection  of  the  word  proves  un- 
availing. To  their  thinking,  industrial  training  means  the 
elimination  of  "culture,"  whatever  that  may  mean,  and  the 
substitution  of  the  reform  school  or  the  trade  school.  For 
them  the  thought  has  not  yet  come  that  education  should 
be  for  service  as  well  as  for  sweetness  and  light ;  that  the 
children  in  our  schools  should  be  able  to  do  things  as  well 
as  to  know  about  things  ;  and  that  in  the  right  doing  of 
things  by  the  country  child  there  is  as  great  opportunity 
for  culture  as  there  is  in  studying  the  printed  page  to  learn 
what  men  have  said  and  thought  in  the  past. 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    3 1 1 

The  distinction  between  higher  education  and  industrial 
education  has  no  real  foundation  upon  which  to  rest.  It  is 
a  survival  of  the  aristocratic  ideas  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  thought  that  farming  and  blacksmithing  are  just  as 
"high"  as  law  and  theology  is  not  original  with  the  writer. 
Whether  it  is  better  to  be  a  blacksmith  than  a  minister 


Fig.  138.    Manual  Training  in  a  Winnebago  County  District  School 

depends.    As  has  been  well  said  recently,  "It  is  better  to 
pound  an  anvil  and  make  a  good  horseshoe  than  to  pound 
a  pulpit  and  make  a  poor  sermon." 
This  same  writer  adds  : 

There  is  a  real  distinction  between  education  for  self-support  and 
education  for  self-development,  between  culture  and  what  the  Ger- 
mans call  the  bread-and-butter  sciences.  In  order,  if  not  in  impor- 
tance, the  bread-and-butter  sciences  come  first.  The  first  duty  every 
man  owes  to  society  is  to  support  himself  ;  therefore  the  first  office 
of  education  is  to  enable  the  pupil  to  support  himself. 

As  President  Roosevelt  said  in  an  address  to  the  young 
men  of  an  eastern  college,  "  Every  young  man  ought  to  be 


312        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

able  to  carry  his  own  weight,"  the  thought  being  that  a 
young  man  should  be  self-supporting  and  not  be  a  dead 
weight  on  society  or  depend  upon  inherited  wealth. 

I  am  indebted  to  Director  W.  C.  Smith  of  the  Winona 
Technical  Institute,  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  for  the  following 
interesting  tabulation  of  children  in  the  public  schools  of 
the  United  States.  The  data  are  taken  from  the  report  for 
1903  of  William  T.  Harris,  United  States  Commissioner 
of  Education.    It  is  worthy  of  careful  notice. 

Public-School  Education 

Grade    Agb      Number  of  Pupils  in  Each  Grade 

5,149,296  children  enter  first  grade 


1       6 


2  7     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^_  By  second  year  nearly  one  half  drop  out 

3  8     2j426j26^^^^^^^^^^^^   Still  leaving  school 

4  9     2ji68j9^^^^^^^ 


5  1  0     M88j8i^^^^^    Breadwinning  by  children  begins 

6  II      705,885       The  call  of  the  "Dollar" 

7     12   405.693 

ft       I  3     '?2^  6ff7    Compare  this  line  with  the  first 

tJ        I  J     V  v'  ^'    About  17  per  cent  of  pupils  in  school  finish  eighth  grade 

9        14     2^.433    enter  high  school 

10  15     147'^92 

11  16     101,903 

I  Z        I  /     73,590    leave  high  school.     A  very  small  dot.     30  percent  finish  high  school 

So  over  10,000,000  children  leave  school  to  go  into  trades  without  com- 
plete schooling.    Among  these  millions  is  found  the  field  of  the  trade  school. 

627  universities,  colleges,  and  technical  schools  in  the  United  States  have 
114,130  students. 

43  of  these  are  technical  schools,  with  13,216  students. 

32,000,000  breadwinners,  —  2,000,000  by  brain  work,  and  30,000,000  by 
manual  labor  trades. 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL  313 

The  reader  will  note  the  comparatively  few  who  enter 
the  high  school.  The  number  is  relatively  smaller  for  the 
country  schools.  This  should  emphasize  the  establishment 
of  country  high  schools,  so  that  more  of  the  country  chil- 
dren may  have  opportunity  for  manual  training. 

Mr.  William  T.  Bawden,  Director  of  Manual  Training 
in  the  normal  school  at  Normal,  Illinois,  gives  the  follow- 
ing as  compiled  from  the  United  States  census  for  1900. 
The  total  number  of  persons  engaged  in  gainful  occupa- 
tions is  placed  at  29,286,000,  classified  as  follows  : 

Agricultural  pursuits,  10,438,000,  or  35.7  per  cent. 

Professional  service,  1,264,000,  or  4.3  per  cent. 

Domestic  and  personal  service,  5,691,000,  or  19.4  per  cent. 

Trade  and  transportation,  4,778,000,  or  16.3  per  cent. 

Manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits,  7,1 13,000,  or  24.3  percent. 

Commenting  on  these  statistics,  Mr,  Bawden  says  : 
During  the  last  fifty  years  there  has  been  a  marked  decrease  in 
the  proportion  of  the  number  of  individuals  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  there  has  been  a  large  increase  in  the  percentage  of 
those  employed  in  trade  and  transportation  and  in  manufacturing  and 
mechanical  pursuits.  These  figures  show  what  a  large  part  manual 
work,  and  especially  the  constructive  industries,  play  in  our  national 
life.  It  is  instructive  to  note  what  a  large  proportion  of  these  methods 
of  gaining  a  livelihood  employ  the  hand  more  or  less  directly.  We 
are  preeminently  an  industrial  nation,  and  if  we  are  to  maintain  our 
supremacy  among  the  nations  of  the  world,  we  must  be,  even  more 
than  we  have  been,  a  manufacturing  nation.  This  can  only  be  accom- 
plished by  raising  up  generations  of  children  who  can  do  something 
with  their  hands.  This  does  not  imply,  as  has  been  already  indicated, 
the  teaching  of  trades  in  the  common  schools ;  but  it  does  mean  that 
children  should  be  brought  up  to  know  something  at  first  hand  about 
"  things," — the  realities  of  life  and  the  elements  of  such  typical  indus- 
tries as  it  may  be  possible  to  introduce  into  the  work  of  the  school 
(see  bulletin,  "  Manual  Training  in  the  Schools,"  by  W.  T.  Bawden, 
Illinois  Normal  University,  April,  1904). 


3H 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


With  the  country  high  schools  —  that  is,  the  village  high 
schools  —  and  the  consolidated  school  as  centers,  manual 
training  for  the  country  child  should  begin.  From  these 
schools  this  particular  phase  of  educational  activity  will 
soon  spread  into  a  large  number  of  one-room  country 
schools.  The  progress  will  be  slow  for  two  reasons  :  first, 
the  teachers  are  not  yet  trained  for  this  work  ;  second, 
as  was  said  above,  the  farmer,  the  patron  of  the  country 
school,   does   not   yet   distinguish   the  difference   between 


Fig.  139.    Manual  Training  Products  in  Cottage  Hill 
School,  near  Springfield,  Illinois 

rfianual  training  and  manual  labor.  Enough  of  the  latter, 
certainly,  the  country  child  gets,  and  he  is  sent  to  school  to 
study  a  book.  We  must  not  neglect  book  study,  to  be  sure ; 
but  a  careful  observer  of  the  average  country  school  must 
be  impressed  with  the  great  waste  of  time  in  much  of  this 
alleged  study  of  books.  A  reasonable  amount  of  manual 
training  could  be  given  in  the  country  school  without  doing 
violence  to  the  study  programme,  and  the  study  of  books 
would  be  better  for  the  manual  activity.    This  is  no  theory ; 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    315 

it  has  been  and  is  being  demonstrated  beyond  the  shadow 
of  a  doubt  ;  and  if  we  wait  till  every  teacher  is  properly 
trained  and  every  farmer  is  converted,  nothing  will  be  done. 
A  demand  must  be  created  where  none  now  exists.  It  is 
the  duty  of  educational  leaders  —  teachers  and  superintend- 
ents and  school  officers  —  to  create  this  demand.  Manual 
training  did  not  come  into  the  city  schools  because  of  a 
great  spontaneous  demand  on  the  part  of  the  city  people. 
The  history  of  the  movement  shows  that  it  was  regarded 


Fig.  140.    The  ^Yorkshop  of  Cottage  Hill  School.    Workbenches 
used  for  Lunch  Counters 

as  a  "fad  "  by  the  great  mass  of  the  people  and  also  by  no 
inconsiderable  part  of  the  elect,  —  the  educational  leaders, 
—  who  were  supposed  to  know.  But  time  changes  some 
things  ;  and  in  view  of  educational  progress  in  the  past 
one  should  hesitate  before  he  determines  for  time  and 
eternity  that  manual  training  has  no  place  in  a  sane, 
rational  system  of  education  for  the  country  child. 

Here  is  a  great  opportunity  for  the  school  to  cooperate 
with  the  country  home,  for  through  the  inspiration  and 
help  of  a  live  teacher  a  workbench  can  be  installed  in  the 


3l6  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

home  workshop,  if  it  seems  impracticable  to  install  one  in 
the  country  schoolhouse.  The  boy  and  girl  at  home,  along 
the  lines  of  farm  activity  and  domestic  economy,  can  make 
a  collection  of  simple  tools  and  receive  instruction  from 
the  teacher  as  to  processes  of  work.  The  country  school 
and  the  country  home  must  come  more  closely  together. 
Many  of  the  old-time  activities  on  the  farm  and  in  the 
country  home  have  gone  since  the  introduction  of  im- 
proved machinery.  With  this  change  have  gone  some  of 
the  elements  in  the  training  of  the  country  child,  which  the 
new  country -school  training  must  supply. 

Superintendent  Brown  of  Edgar  County,  in  an  address 
before  the  Eastern  Illinois  Teachers'  Association  at  Tus- 
cola, February,  1906,  emphasizes  this  point  as  follows  : 

Our  schools  must  take  up  the  neglected  work  of  the  home.  Much 
credit  was  given  the  schools  of  the  olden  time  for  the  power  of  char- 
acter formation  in  the  youths  of  fifty  years  ago.  We  may  be  in  error, 
but  our  candid  opinion  is  that  the  great  men  and  women  of  fifty  years 
ago  were  produced  by  the  home  in  spite  of  the  school.  The  char- 
acter of  our  grandparents  was  the  result  of  a  home  training  such  as 
no  child  in  this  day  and  generation  is  the  fortunate  possessor  of. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  when  a  boy  is  learning  the 
mechanics  of  home-keeping  and  a  girl  the  chemistry  of 
home-keeping,  they  are  gaining  as  much  self-culture  as 
when  they  are  learning  what  kinds  of  homes  the  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans  possessed.  Our  present  self-develop- 
ment is  too  narrow.  We  need  to  broaden  it.  Manual  train- 
ing is  necessary  to  make  the  "all-round  "  man. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  note  every  country  school  and 
every  county,  normal,  and  training  school  where  some 
marnral  training  for  the  country  school  is  carried  on.  The 
data  are  not  yet  at  hand,  and  if  they  were,  there  would  be 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    317 

material  enough  on  this  subject  for  a  large  book,  to  say 
nothing  of  a  single  chapter.  So  the  writer  cannot  give 
credit  for  all  the  good  work  that  is  being  done,  and  cer- 
tainly he  makes  no  pretension  of  saying  in  one  brief 
chapter  the  last  word  about  manual  training  in  the  country 
school.  It  is  hoped  that  what  is  given  here,  together  with 
the  account  of  what  is  being  done,  will  quicken  public 
interest  in  this  particular  phase  of  the  education  of  the 
country  child. 

As  an  illustration  of  what  may  be  done  by  a  country 
teacher  in  a  one-room  school,  the  account  of  the  Cottage 
Hill  School,  near  Springfield,  Illinois,  as  given  by  State 
Superintendent  Bayliss  at  the  Department  of  Superintend- 
ence at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  February,  1903,  is  worthy  of 
careful  study.  Mr.  Bayliss  made  a  study  of  that  school  and 
has  kindly  loaned  some  of  the  photographs  for  this  chapter. 
The  illustrations  show  that  the  workbench  is  in  the  base- 
ment. When  the  new  schoolhouse  was  built  only  enough 
of  excavation  was  done  to  provide  room  for  the  furnace 
and  for  fuel.  The  teacher  and  boys  dug  out  enough  more 
to  place  a  workbench,  and  upon  Superintendent  Bayliss's 
suggestion  to  the  school  officers  the  entire  basement  was 
made  available  for  manual  training  purposes,  as  shown  in 
the  illustration.  In  the  erection  of  country  schoolhouses  in 
the  future  the  possibility  of  a  good,  dry,  well-lighted  base- 
ment should  not  be  overlooked. 

The  teacher  stayed  in  this  school  for  six  years,  with  a 
steady  increase  of  salary.  He  had  no  special  training  for 
this  particular  work,  but  had  a  willingness  to  learn  and  to 
do.    In  speaking  with  Superintendent  Bayliss  he  said  : 

When  I  came  into  this  district  six  years  ago  the  schoolhouse  had 
nothing  in  it  and  was  falling  to  pieces.    After  the  new  house  was  built 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


the  school  grew,  and  I  just  could  n't  keep  those  little  fellows  studying 
books  all  day,  and  so  had  to  do  something  to  keep  them  busy.  The 
older  children  just  naturally  "got  busy  "  because  they  wanted  to. 

We  quote  further  from  Superintendent  Bayliss's  paper, 
read  at  Cincinnati : 

Results  count.  This  man's  pedagogical  method  may  be  vulner- 
able, but,  beyond  a  peradventure,  he  has  achieved  the  prime  result 
in  any  school  district,  —  a  genuine  and  public  interest  in  the  school. 

The  bane  of  the  detached 
school,  in  the  small  inde- 
pendent district,  is  the 
witliering  apathy,  —  the  utter 
indifference  to  anything  but 
petty  grievances  that,  in  the 
last  analysis,  can  be  usually 
traced  to  the  intolerable  dull- 
ness of  the  conventional 
school  routine.  Children  are 
confined  to  a  single  mode  of 
expression,  and  that  upon 
matter  derived  from  books, 
which,  as  far  as  they  can  see, 
has  no  sort  of  relation  to  any- 
thing whatever  of  interest  to 
them  ;  and  they  naturally  go 
to  sleep.  Why  shouldn't 
they?  Whatever  wakes  them 
up  is  justifiable.  If  the  waking  is  followed  by  a  new  attitude  of  mind, 
extending  beyond  the  school  to  the  community,  uniting  directors, 
people,  children,  and  teacher,  the, result  is  a  distinct  gain,  apparent 
pedagogical  crudeness  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Saul,  the  son 
of  Kish,  is  not  the  only  man  who  ever  found  a  greater  thing  than 
he  sought. 

The  following  will  illustrate  what  can  be  done  in  a 
county  as  a  unit.  County  Superintendent  Duggan  of 
Hancock  County,  Georgia,  has  issued  a  bulletin  entitled 


Fig.  141.  Articles  made  in  a  Rural  School 
in  Dunn  County,  Wisconsin 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    319 

"  Manual  Training  in  Hancock  County  Schools."    The  first 
paragraph  reads  : 

Hancock  County  is  the  only  county  in  Georgia,  or  elsewhere  so  far 
as  we  are  informed,  where  any  serious  effort  has  been  made  towards 
the  systematic  introduction  of  manual  training  into  the  courses  of 
study  of  an  entire  county  system  of  rural  schools. 

The  work  has  been  going  on  for  two  years,  —  not  time 
enough,  it  is  true,  to  establish  it  firmly  or  to  demonstrate 


Fig.  142.    The  Manual  Training  Class  at  Work  in  a  Rural 
School  in  Edgar  County,  Illinois 

its  worth  to  other  counties.  But  the  interest  and  value 
are  certainly  great  enough  to  justify  the  fondest  hopes  of 
those  who  believe  in  it.  The  conditions  under  which  the 
work  was  inaugurated  are  similar  to  those  of  thousands  of 
communities.    Superintendent  Duggan  says  : 

The  large  majority  of  the  teachers  had  no  ideas,  or  incorrect  ideas, 
as  to  the  methods  or  purposes  of  manual  training  in  school  work. 


320  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Citizens  and  patrons  generally  knew  or  thought  but  little  about  edu- 
cational methods,  and  regarded  any  innovation  as  unorthodox  and 
therefore  unwise  ;  while  a  few  leaders  of  educational  thought  and 
progress,  from  whom  wise  counsel  and  cooperation  was  confidently 
expected,  looked  upon  the  movement  with  skepticism  or  jealousy, 
thereby  well-nigh  discouraging  the  most  ardent  promoters  and  inter- 
posing serious  hindrance  to  a  full,  fair,  and  impartial  trial. 

But  there  were  some  decided  advantages.  There  are 
only  twenty-six  pubUc  rural  schools  in  the  county  and  one 
city  high  school  at  Sparta,  the  county  seat.  Thus  the 
territory  is  more  compact,  with  fewer  schools  than  in  the 
average  county  in  Illinois  and  the  Middle  West.  Then 
again  there  was  a  liberal  donation  from  the  General  Educa- 
tion Board  of  New  York  towards  the  establishment  of  a 
system  of  manual  training  in  connection  with  the  county's 
public  schools.  Thus  most  of  the  funds  were  realized  with- 
out the  necessity  of  relying  on  local  sources  not  friendly  to 
the  scheme  ;  and  last,  but  not  least  by  any  means,  the 
county  superintendent  was  able  to  have  an  expert  super- 
visor in  charge  of  the  work,  —  a  person  "  who  received  her 
preparation  at  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  and 
who  was  also  familiar  with  southern  institutions,  native 
materials,  and  Georgia  rural-school  conditions,  and  who  was 
well  educated,  thoroughly  trained,  and  had  had  successful 
experience  in  this  particular  line  of  educational  work." 

Now  no  county  superintendent  should  be  cast  down 
under  such  conditions.  Given  twenty-six  country  schools 
and  one  high  school,  a  liberal  amount  of  money,  and  a 
trained  supervisor  to  a  thousand  county  superintendents 
scattered  over  this  country,  and  you  will  see  things  done 
in  spite  of  unprogressive  patrons  and  educational  leaders, 
by  courtesy  so  termed. 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    32 1 

Most  of  the  pupils  beyond  the  seventh  grade  in  the 
twenty-six  country  schools  go  to  the  high  school  at  Sparta. 
On  the  high-school  ground  a  manual  training  building  of 
three  rooms  was  erected,  and  this  is  open  on  Saturdays  for 
the  country  school-teachers.  The  supervisor  and  the  super- 
intendent outline  the  work  from  month  to  month,  and  a 
copy  of  the  outline  is  sent  to  each  teacher  at  least  ten  days 
before  the  first  of  the  month.  The  teachers  study  this  and 
receive  help  froin  the  supervisor  at  the  manual  training 
shop  on  the  first  Saturday  of  each  month.  The  instruction 
and  direction  for  the  country  school-teachers  is  not  limited 
to  one  Saturday,  but  the  supervisor  is  ready  every  Sat- 
urday. At  the  first  meeting  practically  every  teacher  in 
the  county  attends  ;  the  attendance  at  the  other  meetings 
depends  upon  the  weather,  etc.  A  two  weeks'  manual 
training  institute  is  carried  on  during  the  summer  vacation. 

The  following  is  given  to  illustrate  the  work : 

HANCOCK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS 

(^Manual  Training  Department) 

Outlines  for  November 
(Furnished  by  Miss  Emily  P.  Wil'uarn) 

First  Three  Grades 

1.  Draw  from  large  red  apple.  5.  Make  drawing  from  spray  of 

2.  Tear    from    paper    an    apple.  red  leaves. 

Mount  best   picture   of    an  6.  Draw  simple  landscape, 

apple  of  contrasting  color.  7.  Illustrate  story  of  three  bears. 

3.  Makedrawingof  a  large  pear.  8.  Draw  to  illustrate  some  per- 

4.  Draw  to  illustrate  something  sonal  experience. 

in  connection  with  language 
or  nature-studv  lessons. 


322 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


Constructive  Work 


Make  needlebooks.  Decorate 
with  sewing  two  pieces  of 
cardboard.  Make  leaves  of 
flannel  and  tie  together  with 
bright-colored  ribbon. 


Decorate  card  with  pump- 
kins or  turkey  and  sew  with 
bright-colored  thread.  Use 
as  Thanksgiving  card. 


Lessons  for  Grades  above  Third 


1.  Select  spray  of  autumn  leaves 

and  draw,  placing  in  a  panel 
of  good  proportion. 

2.  Give    lessons    in     landscape 

drawing. 

3.  Continue  lessons  in  landscape 

drawing. 

4.  Make    drawing   of   pumpkins 

placed    in    inclosure.     Use 
table    line   to   give   the 


appearance    of    resting    on 
something. 

5.  Draw  to  illustrate  some  portion 

of  reading  lesson. 

6.  Make  drawing  of  pod  of  pep- 

per.    Let  each  child  have  a 
pod  if  possible. 

7.  Use   the  drawings  of  pepper 

for  makin":  a  border  design. 


Constructive  Work 


Waste  basket.    Make  bottom       2. 
of  wood.     Weave  sides  of 
willow,    native     rattan,     or 
braided  buffalo  grass. 


Comb-and-brush  tray.  Make 
by  sewing  pine  needles 
or  native  grass  with  coil 
stitches. 


Teachers  are  requested  to  study  these  outlines  and  bring  them  to 
the  class  on  Saturday,  November  5,  1904,  where  any  point  not  fully 
understood  will  be  explained. 

Teachers  are  also  expected  to  confer  freely  with  Miss  Wilburn  at 
any  time  in  regard  to  any  feature  of  the  work  or  its  introduction  into 
their  schools. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  is  an  account  of  the  great  work 
being  done  in  Dunn  County,  Wisconsin,  in  training  teachers 
to  give  instruction  in  manual  training  in  the  country  schools 


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324        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

of  that  county.  A  reference  to  the  account  given  will  reveal 
the  course  of  study.  Principal  K.  C.  Davis  of  the  county 
School  of  Agriculture,  writes  : 

Senator  J.  H.  Stout  has  helped  materially  in  the  introduction  of 
the  woodwork  in  the  rural  schools  by  providing  fifteen  sets  of  wood- 
working tools  in  neat  cases,  to  be  used  as  loan  sets.  These  travel 
from  school  to  school,  staying  in  one  place  only  long  enough  to  create 
a  demand  for  such  work  in  that  district.  The  district  itself  is  then 
expected  to  buy  a  set  of  tools  to  be  used  in  the  future.  The  agricul- 
tural school  has  provided  workbenches  and  brackets  for  the  same, 
made  by  its  students.  These  go  with  the  loan  sets  mentioned.  Very 
practical  results  have  already  been  obtained,  and  in  many  cases  much 
more  has  been  done  than  could  be  expected. 

The  teachers  find  the  work  useful  in  helping  to  keep  the  older 
pupils  in  school,  in  interesting  pupils  otherwise  listless,  and  in  making 
better  equipment  for  their  schools,  to  say  nothing  of  the  training 
actually  gained  from  the  work  itself. 

We  should  not  fail  to  consider  the  important  influence  which  has 
surrounded  the  teachers  of  this  county  because  of  the  presence  of 
the  Stout  training  schools,  located  at  the  county  seat.  The  spirit  of 
manual  training  pervades  all.  This  paves  the  way  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  such  work  into  all  schools  ;  and  since  it  has  helped  the  city 
schools  of  Menomonie,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  such  work 
will  help  the  country  schools  also,  as  it  does. 

State  normal  schools  are  seriously  studying  the  question 
of  manual  training  for  the  country  school.  The  oldest 
normal  school  in  Illinois,  the  one  at  Normal,  offers  four 
courses  in  the  training  of  teachers  for  the  country  schools : 
(i)  bench  work  in  wood;  (2)  construction  work  for  pri- 
mary grades;  (3)  hand  work  for  intermediate  grades; 
(4)  mechanical  drawing. 

Special  attention  is  given  to  elementary  hand  work  during 
the  first  summer  term  of  each  year,  when  a  great  number 
of  teachers  from  the  country  schools  are  in  attendance. 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL 


325 


This  instruction  is 
helpful,  as  Assistant 
County  Superintendent 
Brigham  of  McLean 
County,  the  county  in 
which  the  normal  school 
is  located,  reports  to 
Director  Bawden  that 
twenty  per  cent  of  the 
country  schools  of  this 
county  have  some  hand 
work  going  on,  and  that 
the  number  is  increas- 
ing. This  increase  is 
to  be  expected  in  a 
count}'  in  which  a  great 
training  school  has 
been  located  for  fifty 
years.  But  what  about 
counties  far  removed 
from  the  direct  influ- 
ence of  such  a  school  .-• 
A  very  important 
investigation  has  been 
going  on,  which  must 
result  in  an  awakening 
on  the  subject  of  man- 
ual training  in  the 
country  schools,  espe- 
cially those  of  Illinois. 
During  the  past  year 
a  committee   of  the 


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326  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Illinois  Manual  Arts  Association  has  been  making  a  study 
of  the  country-school  problem. 

This  committee  made  its  report  on  manual  training  for 
rural  schools  to  the  Illinois  Manual  Arts  Association  at 
the  third  annual  meeting  at  the  University  of  Illinois, 
Saturday,  February  17,  1906. 

It  has  not  yet  been  decided  what  will  be  done  with 
the  report,  but  through  the  kindness  of  the  chairman, 
Mr.  Bawden,  I  am  permitted  to  use  portions  of  it  here, 
the  committee  reserving  the  right  to  publish  it  entire  or  in 
part  in  the  future.  No  definite  conclusions  have  yet  been 
determined  in  this  report  concerning  manual  training  in 
the  country  schools  beyond  the  belief  that  something  can 
and  should  be  done. 

So  far  the  committee  has  used  the  following  outUne  as  a 
guide  in  making  investigations  : 

I.    Given  certain  conditions,  some  hand  work  is  possible. 

1.  Country  school  with  one  room  and  one  teacher. 

a.  A  teacher  having  some  natural  interest  in  and  some  aptitude 

for  hand  work,  and  willingness  to  make  some  effort.    Or 

b.  A  teacher  having  had  enough  training  in  hand  work  to  be 

able  to  get  at  least  a  few  things  started  and  the  pupils 
interested. 

c.  Officials  not  absolutely  opposed  to  the  idea  of  manual  train- 

ing, but  no  funds  available. 

2.  Conditions  similar  to   i,  but  small  sum  available  (five  or  ten 

dollars). 

3.  Conditions  similar  to  2,  except  that  the  schoolhouse  has  an 

entry  or  vacant  space  in  which  a  workbench  or  table  might 
be  placed. 

4.  School  with  two  rooms  and  two  teachers,  one  of  whom  fills 

conditions  oi  a  or  b  in  i  ;   permission  to  spend  ten  or  fifteen 
dollars. 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THK  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    327 

a.  What  conditions  are  desirable  ? 

b.  What  conditions  are  essential  if  hand  work  is  to  be  attempted  ? 

c.  What  may  be  undertaken  in  any  of  the  cases  cited? 

d.  How  may  it  be  done  ? 

e.  How  arouse  interest  ? 

f.  How  meet  opposition  ? 

g.  How  secure  material  or  equipment? 

II.  Discussion  of  source  of  initiative. 

1.  The  citizen. 

2.  The  teacher. 

3.  The  school  directors  or  board. 

4.  The  county  superintendent. 

5.  Any  teacher  or  supervisor  of  the  manual  arts  within  reach. 

6.  The  Illinois  Manual  Arts  Association. 

7.  Educational  institutions. 

a.  Who  should  make  the  first  move? 

b.  What  may  each  do  ? 

c.  How  secure  cooperation  of  two  or  more  ? 

d.  How   secure   or   disseminate    information,   advice,  practical 

suggestions  ? 

III.  Description  and  discussion  of  results  actually  accomplished. 

IV.  How  can  we  make  use  of  the  important  work  already  accom- 

plished   along    the    lines    of    nature    study    and    elementary 
agriculture  ? 
Can  we  get  from  the  leaders  of  this  movement  a  list  of  definite 
and  concrete  problems  that  we  may  systematize  and  put  in 
shape  from  the  standpoint  of  the  hand  work  involved? 

Thus  far  only  two  members  of  the  committee  have 
submitted  the  results  of  their  investigations. 

Mr.  Kendall,  Supervisor  of  Manual  Training,  Lasalle 
Township  High  School,  offers  suggestions  on  "  How  to 
begin  Manual  Training  in  the  Rural  Schools."  He  says  at 
the  outset  of  his  suggestions  : 

This  beginning  has  to  do  with  the  school  that  has  no  special 
equipment  and  no  provision  for  any  regular  appropriation.  At  the 
outset  it  may  be  said  that  there  is  no  beginning  for  the  teacher  who 


328 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


has  no  interest  in  the  work  ;  such  a  teacher  has  no  business  to  attempt 
the  work.  A  teacher  with  the  proper  incentive  and  adequate  informa- 
tion will  succeed  as  well  in  manual  training  as  in  any  book  subject. 

Mr.  Kendall  approaches  the  subject  from  the  educational 
point  of  view,  which  is  the  correct  one  in  the  end,  and 
groups  the  work  in  three  divisions.  The  first  division  com- 
prises Grades  I,  II,  and  III  ;  the  second  comprises  Grades 


Fig.  145.    Manual  Training  in  a  Country  School  of 
Winnebago  County,  Illinois 

IV  and  V;  while  the  third  comprises  Grades  VI,  VII,  and 
VIII.  With  each  division  is  given  an  outline  of  work  suit- 
able for  each  grade.  Some  may  claim  that  the  proper 
beginning  is  with  Grades  VII  and  VIII  by  making  some 
things  that  will  appeal  to  the  average  farmer  from  a  usable 
point  of  view  and  still  be  educational  in  the  processes  of 
work.    Mr.  Kendall  says  on  this  point : 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL 


329 


The  need  in  all  this  work  is  a  well-arranged,  logical  as  well  as 
natural,  course  through  the  first  six  years.  The  usual  method  of  pro- 
cedure in  the  installation  of  manual  training  is  to  begin  in  the  eighth 


Fig.  146.    Manual  Training  in  a  Country  School  of 
Winnebago  County,  Illinois 

or  ninth  year,  and  then  the  work  is  slid  up  and  down  until  all  the 
grades  are  provided  with  their  several  lines  of  work.  The  proper 
place  in  which  to  begin  manual  training  is  in  the  kindergarten  or  first 
grade,  and  then  develop  the  work  year  by  year  through  the  upper 


330  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

grades.  The  teacher  will  be  able  to  make  the  course  fit  the  special 
needs  of  the  school  when  the  scope  of  the  work  is  understood  from 
a  study  of  the  literature  and  materials  that  may  be  obtained  from  the 
resources  at  command. 

The  above  is  sound  in  theory,  but  manual  training  has 
had  to  start  in  almost  any  way  in  many  city  schools.  The 
problem  is  more  complicated  for  the  country  school,  and  it 
may  be  that  the  utilitarian  aspect  will  have  to  be  emphasized 
with  the  farmers  at  the  outset  rather  than  the  educational 
aspect.    The  educators  should,  of  course,  keep  both  in  view. 

The  report  has  an  account  of  the  literature  available  on 
the  subject,  and  gives  the  experience  of  two  country  school- 
teachers in  installing  manual  training  in  their  schools.  The 
chairman  closes  by  asking  the  following  general  questions : 

1.  First,  what  can  the  supervisor  of  drawing  or  manual  training 
in  the  town  or  city  do  to  help  the  rural  school-teacher  }  How  many 
supervisors  here  present  have  Saturday  morning  meetings  for  teachers? 
Is  it  practicable  for  such  supervisors  to  extend  an  invitation  to  such 
rural  school-teachers  as  are  within  reach,  and  who  can  be  interested, 
to  come  in  and  attempt  to  prepare  themselves  for  this  work  1 

2.  My  second  question  is,  Are  the  conditions  ripe  for  the  publica- 
tion of  a  small  manual  prepared  especially  for  the  rural  school-teacher 
and  dealing  with  the  subjects  of  drawing,  hand  work,  and  nature  study? 
A  beginning  could  be  made  with  a  small  pamphlet  of  say  thirty  or  forty 
pages,  profusely  illustrated  ;  it  should  specifically  suggest  difew  things 
that  may  be  done  in  any  rural  school  by  any  intelligent  teacher.  The 
processes  should  be  simple,  the  materials  cheap  and  easily  obtained, 
the  equipment  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  all  details  worked  out  and 
fully  explained.  Suitable  references  to  the  literature  of  the  manual 
arts  would  furnish  the  teacher  with  a  clew  as  to  what  to  do  next. 

A  progressive  county  superintendent  in  Minnesota, 
Miss  Fanny  Gies  of  Mower  County,  states  how  manual 
training  is  carried  on  in  a  county  where  there  is  no  special 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    331 

supervisor.    Her  account  is  a  type  of  what,  doubtless,  is 
being  done  in  many  counties.    Miss  Gies  says : 

I  believe  the  manual  training  courses  as  laid  out  for  our  city 
schools  under  the  direction  of  a  trained  specialist  are  not  suitable  or 
practical  for  our  country  schools.  We  have  neither  the  time  nor  the 
trained  instructor,  but  we  can  do  something  to  bring  into  our  schools 
and  develop  the  manual  training  spirit.  We  can  do  something  to 
meet  that  innate  desire  of  every  child  to  make  something  that  is  of  use, 
that  desire  which,  when  materialized,  supplements  and  strengthens  our 
work  in  other  directions.  Since  manual  training  courses  are  planned 
to  train  the  eye  and  the  hand  to  work  together  under  the  direction  of 
the  mind,  I  believe  we  must  put  into  our  country  schools  something 
which  will  tend  to  accomplish  this  result. 

In  this  county  I  have  introduced  drawing  into  the  one-room  schools 
partly  for  this  reason.  We  need  not  fear  that  we  shall  destroy  the 
beauty  idea  by  making  it  a  training  ;  for  the  closer  the  union  of  mind, 
eye,  and  hand,  the  better  the  artistic  result  as  well  as  the  training. 
Drawing  to  measurement  with  rulers  and  the  making  of  designs  should 
be  often  introduced  into  the  work  of  the  older  pupils.  The  practical 
and  decorative  is  often  combined  in  making  articles  for  definite  uses, 
such  as  notebook  covers,  portfolios  for  drawing  and  writing  material, 
programmes  and  invitations,  and  objects  for  holiday  purposes. 

In  the  primary  grades  we  find  the  little  folks  become  very  skillful 
in  the  use  of  the  scissors  in  making  free-hand  cuttings  to  illustrate 
some  mental  picture  derived  from  a  story.  Paper  folding  and  weav- 
ing of  paper,  cloth,  or  yarn  are  forms  of  industrial  work  adapted  to 
the  lower  grades  in  our  country  schools. 

Some  of  our  schools  have  done  excellent  work  in  cardboard  con- 
struction. This  demands  great  accuracy  in  measurement,  drawing, 
and  cutting.  The  pupils  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  making  brackets, 
boxes,  cardcases.  match  holders,  furniture  for  dolls,  etc.  Because  of 
its  excellent  training  I  hope  to  make  this  work  general  in  the  schools 
of  this  county.  Some  teachers  have  attempted  raffia  work  in  their 
schools,  but  say  they  find  it  more  difficult  to  use  in  the  one-room  schools. 
This  last  form  of  work  has  not  been  urged  upon  the  teachers. 

The  kinds  of  industrial  work  that  have  been  emphasized  in 
Mower  County  are  drawing,  paper  cutting,  folding,  and  weaving,  and 


332  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

cardboard  construction.  For  the  teachers  who  have  not  had  previous 
preparation  for  this  worlc  we  have  provided  special  instruction  at  the 
summer  training  schools,  and  also  at  the  county  teachers'  meetings 
held  during  the  school  year. 

Something  may  be  done  at  the  annual  teachers'  institute 
of  only  a  week's  duration  to  help  country  school-teachers 
to  a  better  understanding  of  the  importance  of  manual 
training.  A  few  of  the  teachers  will  receive  enough  help 
and  inspiration  to  really  accomplish  something  in  their  reg- 
ular school  work.  For  two  years  manual  training  has  had 
a  place  on  the  programme  of  the  institute  of  Winnebago 
County.  The  work  has  been  in  charge  of  Mr.  Harvey  G. 
Hatch,  Supervisor  of  Manual  Training  in  the  city  schools 
of  Rockford.  This  work  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  what 
may  be  done  in  a  week  in  the  way  of  aiding  teachers  and 
helping  to  answer  the  question  how  a  city  supervisor  of 
manual  training  may  help  the  country  school-teacher.  This 
question  was  raised  before  by  Mr.  Bawden.  The  following 
is  Mr.  Hatch's  thought  on  the  subject  : 

At  first  sight  it  seems  that  manual  training  forms  so  natural  a  part 
of  the  farm  boy's  life  that  he  does  not  need  school  influence  to  stim- 
ulate him  to  activity.  We  have  heard  over  and  over  again  from  city 
men  whose  careers  had  their  rise  in  farm  life  that  they  did  not  lack 
for  manual  training  in  those  early  years;  in  fact,  it  was  manual  train- 
ing from  early  morning  till  late  at  night.  But  we  do  not  hear  from 
the  old-time  farmer  boy  that  manual  training  ever  meant  anything 
more  than  long-drawn-out  drudgery  and  unending  toil.  The  city  man 
sees  his  early  life  as  a  means,  while  the  farmer  sees  his  early  life  in 
the  light  of  an  end.  It  is  for  the  farmer  of  to-day  to  see  that  in  man- 
ual training  he  has  a  means  that  will  help  bis  children  directly,  and 
himself  indirectly,  to  better  understand  and  enjoy  farm  life. 

No  matter  how  involved  the  present  situation  may  be,  it  takes  no 
great  prophet  to  see  what  the  end  will  be.  The  country  boy  is  capa- 
ble of  and  has  great  necessity  for  the  fine  adjustments  of  muscular 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    333 

control  which  the  planing  of  a  board  means.  Without  doubt  the 
country  boy  needs  to  have  more  of  a  chance  to  use  his  hands  under 
school  auspices,  and  when  the  time  comes  that  the  country  boy  may 
be  seen  on  his  way  home  from  school  with  a  book  under  one  arm 
and  under  the  other  an  evener,  a  towel  rack,  or  some  useful  thing 
which  he  himself  has  made  in  school,  it  will  be  safe  to  say  that  that 
boy  will  look  upon  his  school  as  a  more  useful  place,  and  there  will 
be  some  natural  connection  between  living  on  a  farm  and  going  to  a 
country  school.  I  doubt  not  that  the  country  boy  likes  to  feel  him- 
self a  part  of  the  life  which  is  all  about  him,  but  he  gets  only  a  slight 


.--.- 

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Fig.  147.    ^Yin^ebago  County  Teachers  doing  Tool  Work  at  the 
March  (1906)  Annual  Teachers'  Institute 

view  of  it  through  the  present  country  school.  Action  is  a  part  of 
life,  but  ordinarily  action  is  ruled  out  in  school  business. 

Many  machines  are  used  on  a  farm,  and  machines  break.  Repairs 
are  necessary,  and  often  the  loss  of  a  day's  use  of  a  machine  means  a 
great  deal.  Suppose  the  country  schoolboy  could  make  an  intelligent 
working  drawing  of  the  necessary  part  and  take  it  to  town  himself, 
explaining  to  the  mechanic  just  what  repairs  would  be  needed.  Here 
again  the  boy  would  feel  himself  a  prime  factor  and  not  a  drudge 
factor  in  the  development  of  the  farm. 

From  mv  point  of  view,  then,  it  is  necessary  to  emphasize  the 
need  of  what  the  educator  calls  the  purely  utilitarian.    I  urge  this  as 


334  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

the  next  step,  for  it  is  the  logical  thing  to  do.  Without  doubt  the 
passing  of  time  will  reveal  a  broader  application. 

No  doubt  the  county  institutes  may  be  made  a  great  help  in 
giving  teachers  some  rudimentary  ideas  in  the  details  of  tool  work. 
While  this  is  an  opportunity  by  no  means  to  be  neglected,  it  cannot 
be  considered  to  meet  the  situation  adequately  ;  but  if  the  city  man- 
ual training  schools  could  give  the  matter  some  consideration,  they 
would  be  of  great  assistance.  I  doubt  if  it  would  be  difficult  to  form 
Saturday  classes  in  cities  for  country  teachers,  if  enthusiasm  and 
backing  were  forthcoming  from  county  officials. 

The  manual  training  high  school  of  the  city  must  aid  in  the  solu- 
tion of  the  manual  training  problem  of  the  country  school.  Township 
high  schools  and  the  regular  city  high  schools  are  attracting  many 
country  boys,  and  almost  without  exception  they  find  large  satisfaction 
in  the  manual  training  courses.  From  these  young  people  must  come 
the  supply  of  teachers  for  the  country  schools ;  they  are  the  ones 
who  can  give  the  greatest  help,  since  they  are  in  sympathetic  touch 
with  the  life  of  the  country  and  can  best  see  and  realize  country 
needs. 

Ofttimes  teachers  in  the  country  school  find  the  need  of  a 
suggestive  outline  of  work  for  the  different  grades,  together 
with  some  good  practical  reference  books,  which  the  teacher 
may  own  or  put  into  the  local  school  library  as  the  result 
of  a  school  social.  The  following,  taken  from  the  Manual 
Training  Magazine,  is  to  the  point,  and  is  particularly 
valuable  to  the  country  school,  as  shop  equipment  is  not 
necessary : 

Possible  Kinds  of  Hand  Work 

From  the  following  outline  one  or  two  or  possibly,  in  some  cases, 
three  kinds  of  work  may  be  selected  for  each  grade. 

Grades  I  and  II.    Equipment;  pencil,  ruler,  scissors,  needle: 
a.  Paper  folding:  geometric,  square  of  paper  given  (see  "  Construc- 
tion Work  in  the  Primary  Grades,"  by  Julia  C.  Cremins  in 
Yearbook  of  Council  of  Supervisors  of  the  Manual  Arts,  1904). 


335 


336  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

b.  Paper   cutting:    freehand  (see  "  Freehand   Cutting,"  by  Olive 

Wills  in  School  Arts  Book,  Vol.  IV,  pages  265-271). 
Cutting  natural  forms  and  illustrating  stories. 

c.  Paper  weaving:  strips  of  paper  given  (see  Educational  Hand- 

work  Manuals,    Part    I,  by  Arthur   H.   Chamberlain;   also 
Suggestions  in  Handwork,  by  Wilhelmina  Seegmiller). 

d.  Paper  construction  work  (see  Paper  Sloyd  or  Primary  Grades, 

by  Ednah  A.  Rich). 

e.  Work  with  raffia  or  shoe  strings:   braiding,  winding,  knotting 

(see  Educational  Handwork  Manuals,  Part  I,  by  Arthur  H. 
Chamberlain). 

f.  Weaving:  rugs  and  other  simple  objects  of  yarn  or  strips  of 

cloth  or  rafifia. 
Grade  III.  Equipment:  pencil,  ruler,  scissors,  needle,  two  or  three 
ticket  punches  for  the  class. 
a.  Cardboard  work :  very  heavy  manila  paper,  one  square  corner 
given  (see  Paper  Sloyd  for  Primary  Grades,  by  Ednah  A 
Rich;  or  First  Years  in  Handicraft,  by  Walter  J.  Kenyon). 


Fig.  149.    Learning  to  Cook  :   Manual  Training  for  Girls 

b.  Card  work :  macram^  cord,  shoe  strings,  or  wrapping  cord  (see 

Chapter  XXIII  in  Practical  and  Artistic  Basketry,  by  Laura 
R.  Tinsley). 

c.  Basketry  (see  Practical  and  Artistic  Basketry,  by  Laura   R. 

Tinsley). 
Grade  IV.  Equipment  :  the  same  as  provided  for  Grade  III,  with 
compasses  added. 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL     t^t^j 

a.  Cardboard  construction:  heavy  nianila  paper  or  bristol  board; 

find  square  corners  (see  Cardboard  Construction,  by  J.  H.' 
Trybom;  or  Paper  and  Cardboard  IVork,  by  Arthur  H. 
Chamberlain). 

b.  Basketry  (see  reference  in  Grade  III). 


Fig.  150.    Macdonald  Consolidated  School,  Guelph,  Ontario, 
Canada.      Manual  Training  Room 

c.  Clay  working  (see  "Clay  Working  in  the  School,"  by  Cheshire  L. 
Boone  in  Yearbook  of  Council  of  Supervisors  of  the  Manual 
Arts,  1905;  also  "  Pottery  in  the  Public  Schools,"  by  Forrest 
E.  Mann  in  Manual  Training  Magazine,  Januarv,  1906). 
Grade  V. 

a.  Knife  work.      Equipment :   knife,   try -square,   compasses,   ruler, 

and  pencil  for  each  pupil,  and  small  haminer,  two  hand  screws, 
oilstone,  oil  can,  and  brad  awl.  Material :  basswood,  \  bv  ,•'',•, 
inches  thick;  pad  of  drawing  paper  6  by  9  inches;  liquid 
glue,  siTiall  brads,  sandpaper,  stains  and  wax  for  finishing 
(see  Elementary  Knife  Work,  by  W.  C.  A.  Hammel;  and  Art 
Crafts  for  Beginners,  by  Frank  (i.  Sanford). 

b.  Bent-iron  work.    Equipment :  flat-nose  pliers,  round-no.se  pliers, 

rule,  and  pencil  for  each  pupil;  snips  for  every  four  pupils, 
small  hand  vise,  small  hammer,  Morrill  punch,  and  paint  brush 
for  general  use.   Material:   '{-inch  ribbon  iron,  |-inch  binders. 


338  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

rivets,  black  paint  (see  "  Bent  Iron,"  by  Henry  T.  Bailey  in 
School  Afts  Book  for  February,  1905). 

c.  Basketry  (see  reference  in  Grade  III). 

d.  Clay  working  (see  reference  in  Grade  IV). 
Grade  VI. 

a.  Knife  work.    Continuation  of  work  in  Grade  V. 

b.  Bent-iron  work  (see  references  in  Grade  V). 

c.  Basketry  (see  references  in  Grade  III). 
.    d.  Sewing. 

e.  Clay  working  (see  references  in  Grade  IV). 
Grade  VII. 

a.  Knife  work.    The  same  as  Grade  V,  adding  the  use  of  thicker 

wood  (pine)  in  the  middle  of  the  year.  To  the  equipment 
should  be  added  one  backsaw  (10  inches),  one  bench  hook, 
one  bit  brace,  three  drill  bits,  in  sizes  to  suit  work  to  be  done 
(see  Advanced  Knife  Work,  by  W.  C.  A.  Hammel). 

b.  Tooled  leather  work.    Equipment:  modeling  tools,  small  board 

of  hard  wood,  knife,  ruler,  sponge  (see  Manual  Training 
Magazine,  July,  1904,  and  October,  1905;  also  Art  Crafts 
for  Beginners,  by  Frank  G.  Sanford,  and  "  Simple  Metal- 
Working  in  the  Public  Schools,"  by  Forrest  E.  Mann  in 
Manual  Training  Magazine,  Vol.  IV). 

c.  Sewing  and  garment  making. 

Note.  The  girls  may  take  sewing  while  the  boys  take  knife  work. 
Then  for  a  part  of  the  time  both  boys  and  girls  may  unite  in  either 
tooled  work  or  in  sheet-metal  work. 

Grade  VIII. 

a.  Mechanical  drawing.  Equipment:  "Springfield  Kit,"  compasses, 

ruler,  pencil,  eraser  (see  Mechanical  Drawing,  by  Anson  K. 
Cro.ss). 

b.  Paper-box  making  and  the  elements  of  book  binding;  use  of 

strawboard  and  lining  paper.  Equipment  :  straightedge, 
knife,  scissors,  ruler,  pencil,  folder.  Material:  strawboard, 
lining  paper,  cover  papers,  linen,  paste,  glue  (see  "Some 
Phases  of  Constructive  Work  in  the  Grammar  Grades,"  by 
Julia  C.  Cremins  in  Yearbook  of  Council  of  Supervisors  of 
the  Manual  Arts,  1905). 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    339 

c.  Tooled  leather  work  (see  reference  in  Grade  \'II). 
(i.  Sheet-metal  work  (see  reference  in  Grade  \TI). 
e.  Sewing  and  garment  making. 
/.  Cooking. 

Following  is  a  carefully  prepared  list  of  the  most  useful 
works  on  the  various  phases  of  manual  training  : 

Reference  List 
Theory 

Baldwin,  W.  A.,  Industrial  School  Education. 

Dewey,  John,  The  School  and  Society. 

Dopp,  Katherine  E.,  The  Placeof  Industries  in  Elementar>-  Education. 

Goetze,  \V.,  Hand  and  Eye  Training.    (From  the  German  standpoint.) 

Ham,  C.  H.,  Mind  and  Hand. 

National  Educational  Association,  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Indus- 
trial Education  in  Schools  for  Rural  Communities,  1905. 

Salomon,  Otto,  The  Theory  of  Educational  Sloyd.  (From  the  Swedish 
standpoint.) 

Washington,  B.  T.,  Working  with  the  Hands. 

Woodward,  C.  M.,  The  Manual  Training  School. 

Woodward,  C.  M.,  Manual  Training  in  Education. 

Practice 
Schoolroovt  Handicrafis 

Chamberlain,  Arthur  H.,  Basketry,  Clay,  and  Paper  Weaving  for  the 

Elementary  Grades. 
Chamberlain,  Arthur  H.,  Paper  and  Cardboard  Construction. 
Hammel,  W.  C.  A.,  Elementary  Knife  Work. 
Hammel,  W.  C.  A.,  Advanced  Knife  Work. 
Hapgood,  Olive  C,  School  Needlework.    Teacher's  Edition. 
Kenyon,  W.  J.,  First  Years  in  Handicraft. 
Rich,  Ednah  A.,  Paper  Sloyd  for  Primary  Grades. 
Sage,  Elizabeth,  and  Cooley,  Anna  M.,  Occupations  for  Little  Fingers. 

Work  in  textiles. 


340        AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Sanford,  F.  G.,  Art  Crafts  for  Beginners.    Sheet-metal  work,  tooled 

leather,  pottery,  bookbinding,  pyrography. 
Seegmiller,  Wilhelmina,  Suggestions  in  Handwork.    Paper  weaving, 

work  with  tilo  matting. 
Todd,  M.  P.,  Hand-Loom  Weaving. 
Trybom,  J.  H.,  Cardboard  Construction. 
Trybom,  J.  H.,  Correlated  Handwork,  Book  L 
Walkeman,  A.  V.,  and  Heller,  L.  M.,  Scientific  Sewing  and  Garment 

Cutting. 
Williams,  Mary  E.,  and  Fisher,  Katharine  R.,  Elements  of  the  Theory 

and  Practice  of  Cookery. 
Worst,  E.  F.,  Construction  Work. 

Woodworking 

Foster,  E.  W.,  Elementary  Woodworking.    A  text-book  for  schools. 

It  is  intended  to  supplement  class  instruction  concerning  tools, 

fundamental  tool  processes,  wood,  and  trees. 
Goss,  W.  F.  M.,  Bench  Work  in  Wood.     Contains  an  excellent  chap- 
ter on  tools  and  their  use. 
Hoffman,  B.  B.,  The  Sloyd  System  of  Woodworking. 
Murray,  M.  W.,  Problems  of  Woodworking.    Forty  selected  working 

drawings  ready  for  class  use. 
Pinchot,  Gifford,  A  Primer  of  Forestry.    Part  I,  The  Forest ;  Part  II, 

Practical  Forestry.     Bulletin  No.  24,  United  States  Department 

of  Agriculture. 
Wheeler,  C.  G.,  Woodworking  for  Beginners.    Tells  the  amateur  how 

to  make  furniture,  implements  for  sport,  small  boats,  house  boats, 

summer  cottages,  and  the  like. 

Drawing  and  Design 

Batchelder,  E.  A.,  Principles  of  Design, 
Cross,  A.  K.,  Freehand  Drawing. 
Cross,  A.  K.,  Light  and  Shade. 
Cross,  A.  K.,  Mechanical  Drawing. 


MANUAL  TRAINING  IN  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL    341 

Equipments,  Cost,  etc. 
Rouillion,  Louis,  The  Economy  of  Manual  Training. 

Gardening 

Hemenway,  H.  D.,  Hints  and  Helps  for  Young  Gardeners. 

Periodicals 
Amateur  Work. 
Craftsman. 

Manual  Training  Magazine. 
School  Arts  Book. 
Yearbooks  of  Council  of  Supervisors  of  the  Manual  Arts. 


CHAPTER  XV 
A   LAST  WORD 

In  this  concluding  chapter  I  do  not  expect  to  say  the 
final  word  with  reference  to  increasing  the  usefulness  of 
the  country  school.  This  will  be  a  last  word  so  far  as  this 
work  is  concerned.  There  needs  to  be  an  awakening  among 
country  people  and  educators  generally  with  respect  to  the 
possibilities  of  the  country  school.  How  this  awakening  is 
to  be  brought  about  is  another  matter. 

It  is  a  hopeful  sign  for  the  country  schools  of  any  state 
when  the  state  university  begins  to  "sit  up  and  take  notice  " 
of  the  district  schools.  This  is  what  is  happening  in  the 
great  state  of  Illinois.  So  far  as  I  know,  for  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  the  state  the  University  of  Illinois  held 
a  special  summer  session  in  the  interest  of  country  schools, 
June  12-30,  1905;  also  a  special  state  conference  in  the 
interests  of  the  country  schools  of  Illinois  was  held  by  the 
University,  June  26-30,  1905. 

During  the  summer  session  of  three  weeks  such  sub- 
jects as  agriculture,  household  science,  manual  training, 
teaching,  economic  zoology,  commercial  geography,  school 
architecture,  and  school  consolidation  —  all  for  country 
schools — were  considered  by  men  of  mark  in  the  educa- 
tional world. 

The  reader's  attention  is  called  to  the  following  resolu- 
tions, adopted  at  the  close  of  this  conference  : 

342 


A  LAST  WORD  343 


Resolutions 

University  of  Illinois,  Urbana, 
June  30,  1905 


Whereas :  We  sincerely  appreciate  the  importance  of  the  move- 
ment whereby  the  great  University  of  Illinois,  the  apex  of  the  edu- 
cational pyramid  of  our  state,  extends  a  helping  hand  to  the  ten 
thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-seven  countr}-  schools  of  Illinois 
at  the  base  of  our  educational  pyramid,  where  were  enrolled  three 
hundred  and  eighteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighteen  boys  and 
girls  of  the  Prairie  State ;  and 

Whereas:  Fully  ninety  per  cent  of  these  boys  and  girls  will  get 
their  only  training  for  life's  duties,  so  far  as  books  are  concerned,  in 
these  ten  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy -seven  one-room  country 
schools  under  more  or  less  favorable  conditions ;  therefore 

Be  it  resoh'ed:  That  we,  as  school  officers,  teachers,  and  patrons 
assembled  in  this  first  conference  in  the  interests  of  the  country 
schools,  recommend  that  a  united  effort  be  made  all  over  Illinois,  by 
individual  school  districts  or  larger  communities,  to  increase  the  use- 
fulness of  the  country  school  along  one  or  more  of  the  following 
general  lines. 

First.  Increase  the  usefulness  of  the  countr}-  school  as  a  spirit- 
ualizing force  in  country-  life  by  planting  trees,  flowers,  shrubberj-  on 
the  school  grounds  so  that  the  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixt)-- 
six  country-school  grounds  now  without  a  single  tree,  and  the  three 
thousand  three  hundred  and  thirt}-two  countrj-school  grounds  with 
insufficient  trees,  may  exert  as  wholesome  an  influence  as  do  the  three 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-four  well-kept,  beautiful  countrj-- 
school  grounds  now  scattered  over  our  state.  It  is  also  true  that 
beautiful  buildings,  equipped  with  necessarj-  apparatus,  a  librar)-, 
choice  works  of  art  on  the  walls,  etc.,  do  exert  quite  as  much  influ- 
ence for  right  thinking  and  doing  as  does  a  study  of  what  men  have 
said  or  done  in  past  ages. 

Second.  Increase  the  usefulness  of  the  country  school  by  an  enrich- 
ment of  the  course  of  study  for  the  country  child,  so  that  the  country 
child  may  be  put  into  sympathetic  and  intelligent  relation  to   his 


344 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


environment.  That  there  shall  come  into  the  country  school  some- 
thing in  an  elementary  form,  with  reference  to  agriculture,  manual 
training,  and  domestic  arts.  That  in  the  things  surrounding  the  child 
on  the  farm  is  a  body  of  material  that  possesses  a  high  cultural  value 
as  well  as  practical  utility. 

Third.  Increase  the  usefulness  of  the  Country  school  by  consoli- 
dating weak  country  schools  and  transporting  children  when  condi- 
tions are  favorable.    This  will  give  a  country  graded  school  and  make 

possible  the  distinctly 
country  high  school  with 
a  course  of  study  fla- 
vored with  country  life 
and  interests.  We  fully 
recognize  that  consolida- 
tion is  not  feasible  in 
many  localities  now,  nor 
perhaps  desirable;  but 
it  is  practicable  in  many 
localities,  and  we  are 
heartily  in  favor  of  an 
educational  campaign 
whereby  the  people  may  be  thoroughly  informed  on  this  question. 
Then  it  is  theirs  to  do  or  not  to  do. 

Resolved :  Our  thanks  are  hereby  extended  to  the  authorities  and 
faculty  of  the  University  of  Illinois  for  their  efforts  to  make  this  first 
conference  the  success  it  has  been. 


Fig.  151.    A  Schoolhouse  built  in  the 
Early  Fifties 


It  was  my  pleasure  to  attend  a  recent  convention  of  school 
directors  in  Rock  County,  Wisconsin.  These  conventions 
can  be  made  a  great  force  in  an  educational  campaign  for  an 
educational  uplift  for  the  country  child.  The  Wisconsin  law 
with  reference  to  school  directors'  meetings  reads  as  follows  : 

The  people  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  represented  in  Senate  and 
Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows  : 
Section   i.    A  paragraph  is  hereby  added  to  Section  461  of  the 
statutes  of  1898,  to  be  numbered  and  to  read  as  follows:    9.  The 


A  LAST  WORD  345 

county  or  district  superintendent  of  schools  shall  annually  call  and 
hold  at  least  one  school  board  convention  for  his  superintendent  dis- 
trict, at  the  county  seat  or  some  other  convenient  place,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  consultation,  advice,  and  instruction  upon  matters  pertaining 
to  the  management  of  our  schools.  Each  district  clerk  shall,  and  the 
director  and  treasurer  may,  attend  such  convention.  Each  member 
present  shall  be  allowed  two  dollars  and  mileage  at  the  rate  of  three 
cents  per  mile  each  way,  going  and  returning  to  and  from  said  meet- 
ing, and  said  sum  to  be  paid  from  any  moneys  in  the  school  district 
treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated.  The  county  superintendent  shall 
issue  to  each  member  in  attendance  a  certificate  Avhich  shall  be  filed 
with  the  school  district  clerk  and  serve  as  a  basis  or  evidence  for 
drawing  the  necessary  warrant  upon  the  district  treasury. 

The  last  legislature  of  Wisconsin  made  provision  for  a 
State  Inspector  of  Country  Schools.  The  new  inspector, 
Mr.  L.  W.  Wood,  has  a  great  field  before  him.  From  my 
con\ersation  with  him  at  the  Rock  County  school  board 
convention  I  judge  him  to  be  a  man  in  full  sympathy  with 
the  country  school.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  school  direc- 
tors, county  superintendents,  and  country  school-teachers 
will  find  in  the  new  inspector  a  safe  and  sympathetic  co- 
laborer.  The  Journal  of  Education  (Boston),  in  a  recent 
editorial,  has  the  following  with  reference  to  this  forward 
step  for  the  country  schools  of  Wisconsin.  Speaking  of 
Inspector  Wood's  duties,  the  editor  says  : 

In  July  and  August  he  is  to  familiarize  himself  by  careful  reading 
with  all  the  recent  literature  on  rural  .schools  and  their  improvement. 
He  is  expected  to  be  master  of  the  best  things  .so  far  written  on  all 
phases  of  the  subject.  In  September  and  October  he  will  visit,  in  and 
out  of  the  state,  those  places  in  which  the  new  work  is  done  in  and  for 
the  country  schools.  From  November  to  March  there  will  be  seventy 
county  conventions  of  the  boards  of  education  in  rural  districts.  At 
least  one  man  from  each  district  is  required  to  attend,  and  his  expenses 
are  paid,  and  he  further  draws  a  per  diem  honorarium  for  attendance. 


346  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

The  county  superintendent  arranges  the  meeting,  though  Inspector 
Wood  will  largely  dominate  the  programme.  In  this  way  he  will 
enlighten  and  inspire  some  school  official  in  every  local  rural  district 
in  the  state. 

From  March  to  June  he  will  be  visiting  schools,  selecting  typical 
regions,  visiting  rural  schools  faithfully  and  actively  for  five  days 
each  week,  and  on  Saturday  will  hold  a  teachers'  meeting  at  which 
every  teacher  visited  shall  be  present.  From  time  to  time  bulletins 
will  be  issued  for  the  advantage  of  the  teachers,  superintendents,  and 
the  public. 

The  state  department  has  set  about  improving  school  buildings  and 
grounds,  notably  in  heating  and  ventilating;  securing  better  teachers, 
and  better  salaries  for  the  better  teachers ;  reducing  the  number  of 
small  schools  through  consolidating  schools  and  transporting  the 
pupils.  Mr,  Wood  was  born  in  an  agricultural  community,  went  to  a 
country  school,  has  taught  in  ungraded  schools,  and  has  the  purpose 
and  the  vigor  to  do  a  great  work  for  the  rural  schools  of  Wisconsin. 

Why  not  something  of  this  kind  for  every  state  .''  Why 
should  the  country  school  be  the  last  part  of  our  educa- 
tional system  to  receive  attention .''  State  Superintendent 
Miller  of  West  Virginia  is  conducting  an  educational  cam- 
paign in  his  state.  The  West  Virginia  ScJiool  Journal  iox 
June,  1905,  contains  the  following  editorial : 

State  Superintendent  Miller  believes  that  the  educational  progress 
of  the  state  is  not  keeping  up  with  its  industrial  progress,  and  that  in 
our  wild  scramble  for  wealth  we  are  losing  sight  of  the  more  impor- 
tant things  of  life.  In  order  to  get  the  people  to  think  upon  these 
things  he  organized  an  educational  campaign  in  three  sections  which 
he  called  "  The  Ohio  River  Tour,"  "  The  North  Central  Tour,"  and 
"  The  Tour  on  the  Main  Line  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio,"  respec- 
tively. County  Superintendent  O.  J.  Kern  of  Winnebago  County, 
Illinois,  was  the  chief  speaker  on  the  first  of  these  tours;  Dr.  A.  E. 
Winship,  editor  of  \\\&  Journal  of  Education  (Boston),  on  the  second  ; 
and  State  Superintendent  W.  W.  Stetson  of  Maine  on  the  third. 
Superintendent  Miller  had  personal  charge  of  the  meetings  for  the 


A  LAST  WORD 


347 


first  two  weeks,  after  which  he  was  obliged,  by  the  serious  illness  of 
iMrs.  Miller,  to  remain  at  home.  Professor  Thomas  E.  Hodges  of  the 
University  was  a  member  of  the  party  for  the  first  week  and  a  part 
of  the  third,  and  Dr.  Waitman  Barbe  of  the  University  was  with  the 
various  tours  the  whole  three  weeks.  The  campaign  began  April  24 
and  closed  May  13.  At  least  fifteen  thousand  people  heard  the  ad- 
dresses. The  meetings  were  attended  by  the  most  influential  people, 
and  in  most  cases  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  were  quite  marked.  In 
some  instances  receptions  and  banquets  were  held,  and  orchestras,  as 
well  as  the  best  vocal  music,  were  brought  into  use,  and  the  occasions 
were  emphasized  in  a  most  encouraging  way. 

State  Superintendent  W.  W.  Stetson  of  Maine  organ- 
ized, in  1898,  the  School  Improvement  League  of  Maine, 
for  the  improvement  of  the  country  schools  of  that  state. 
The  objects  of  the  league  are  to  improve  school  grounds 
and  buildings,  to  provide  suitable  reading  matter  for  pupils 
and  parents,  and  to  provide  works  of  art  for  the  school- 
room. How  successful  the  league  has  been  may  be  judged 
from  a  report  of  the  state  president  and  state  secretary 
issued  from  the  office  of  Superintendent  Stetson.  The 
material  results  are  summed  up  as  follows  : 

1.  Planted  over  five  thousand  trees. 

2.  Purchased  a  hundred  thousand  books. 

3.  Purchased  over  five  hundred  casts. 

4.  Purchased  about  seven  thousand  pictures. 

Other  important  results  are  given  as  follows  : 

1.  The   league   has  created  a  higher  standard  of  equipment  for 

schools. 

2.  Harmony  has  been  strengthened  between  the  school  and  home. 

3.  Self-help  has  been  emphasized. 

4.  The  usefulness  of  the  country  school  has  been  increa.sed. 

5.  School  life  has  been  made  more  attractive  to  the  children,  civic 
pride  has  been  cultivated,  and  the  taste  for  good  literature  has  been 
encouraged. 


348  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

Superintendent  Stetson  reports  that  the  country  schools 
of  Maine  constitute  sixty-one  per  cent  of  the  whole  number 
in  the  state,  with  forty-four  per  cent  of  the  children  attend- 
ing them.  Since  these  same  country  schools  are,  in  some 
respects,  the  most  important  in  the  state,  Superintendent 
Stetson  has  instituted  what  he  is  pleased  to  call  "  standard 
schools."  He  does  not  quite  believe  in  either  "ideal"  or 
"model  "  schools.  To  quote  from  his  booklet  on  standard 
schools  : 

The  "  ideal  school  "  is  not  attainable.  It  is  doubtful  if  it  is  desir- 
able. If  we  had  it,  we  would  not  be  able  to  use  it  in  such  a  way  as 
to  derive  benefit  from  it.  We  have  to  grow  up  to  the  higher  planes 
before  we  can  be  helped  by  ideal  conditions. 

The  "  model  school "  has  filled  such  large  spaces  in  so  many 
reports  that  it  is  in  bad  odor.  The  "  model  school,"  like  the  "  ideal 
school,"  is  both  illusive  and  delusive.  Each  is  one  thing  to-day  and 
something  quite  different  to-morrow.  Before  eitlier  can  be  built  it 
will  have  outgrown  the  conception  upon  which  it  was  constructed. 

The  "standard  school"  is  achievable.  It  has  metes  and  bounds 
and  may  have  a  local  habitation. 

It  may  be  said  in  passing  that  no  "ideal"  is  absolutely 
attainable,  for  the  moment  it  is  attained  it  is  no  longer  an 
"  ideal  "  ;  and  it  may  be  fairly  questioned  whether  a  "  model 
school"  need  necessarily  be  "both  illusive  and  delusive." 

However,  among  the  excellent  "ideals  "  which  Mr.  Stet- 
son sets  forth  for  his  "  standard  school,"  which  may  serve 
as  a  "model"  for  the  improvement  of  the  country  schools 
of  Maine,  are  the  following  : 

I.  The  grounds  shall  comprise  at  least  three  acres  with  plots  for 
forest  trees,  fruit  trees,  school  garden,  and  playground,  and  with  neat, 
tasteful  walks,  etc.  This  is  an  excellent  "  ideal,"  and  in  several  states 
is  being  attained,  thus  serving  as  a  "standard"  for  other  country 
communities. 


J 


A  LAST  WORD  349 

2.  The  building  should  be  constructed  of  wood  and  of  such  a 
size  as  to  afford  plenty  of  cloak  room,  etc.  The  architecture  should 
be  simple  and  attractive,  the  floors  and  wainscoting  to  be  of  yellow 
birch  with  walls  and  ceiling  of  steel,  the  former  painted  a  light  buff 
and  the  latter  a  light  cream. 

3.  The  windows  should  be  at  the  left  and  rear  of  the  pupils 
when  seated. 

4.  The  furniture  should  consist  of  a  slate  blackboard,  single  adjust- 
able desks,  recitation  settees,  chairs  for  teacher  and  possible  visitors. 

5.  A  library  case  and  suitable  books. 

6.  Pictures  and  statuary  of  real  artistic  merit. 

7.  Necessary  maps,  globe,  etc. 

8.  Stove  with  jacket,  and  ventilating  shaft  in  chimney. 

9.  Water  supply  ample  and  pure. 

10.  Outbuildings  in  the  rear  of  lot  surrounded  by  evergreen  trees. 

11.  A  good  fence  around  school  ground. 

12.  A  workshop  for  the  boys  and  one  also  for  the  girls. 

And  to  educate  the  people  up  to  his  ideal  of  a  standard 
school  Superintendent  Stetson  has  issued  a  pamphlet  en- 
titled "  Sketches,  Designs,  and  Plans  for  School  Buildings, 
School  Grounds,  and  Outhouses  "  ;  also  one  on  '<  Improve- 
ment of  School  Buildings  and  Grounds." 

Mr.  Stetson  claims  that  the  "standard  school"  will 
help  the  people  of  his  state  to  see  that : 

The  homes  of  Maine  should  be  domestic  universities. 

The  common  school  should  be  the  social,  literar\-,  and  art  center 
of  the  community. 

The  safety  of  the  nation  is  not  in  the  hands  of  its  rulers,  but  in  the 
lives  of  its  common  people. 

West  Virginia,  under  the  excellent  leadership  of  State 
Superintendent  Miller  and  Dr.  Waitman  Barbe  of  the 
University  of  W^est  Virginia,  has  an  active  league  for  the 
same  purposes.  The  membership  fee  of  the  West  Virginia 
league  consists  of  a  pledge   to  devote  at   least  one  day 


350 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


during  the  year  towards  improving  the  school  grounds  and 
buildings,  and  to  maintain  libraries  in  the  schools.  Much 
good  work  is  being  done. 

From  the  Pine  Tree  State  to  the  Palmetto  State  is  shown 
a  quickening  of  the  public  interest  with  reference  to  the 
country  school.  The  pamphlets  issued  by  State  Superin- 
tendent O.  B.  Martin  of  South  CaroHna,  in  1905,  reveal  the 
new  educational  spirit  in  the  South  land.    Special  attention 


Fig.  152.    Bare  and  Uninviting 

is  here  called  to  Mr.  Martin's  pamphlet,  "  School  Improve- 
ment, Law,  Designs,  and  Suggestions  for  Schoolhouses," 
which  cannot  help  creating  a  new  "ideal  "  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  school  plant.  Design  No.  16  in  the  above 
pamphlet  is  "an  ideal  eight-room  school  building  built  in 
Illinois." 

Superintendent  Martin  well  says  : 

People  will  not  patronize  merchants  who  have  uncomfortable, 
dingy,  ill-furnished  storehouses,  nor  do  they  accept  accommodations 
in  box  cars  when  they  ride  on  railroads  ;  and  yet,  when  it  comes  to 
the  training  of  children,  they  often  risk  the  health,  lives,  and  character 


A  LAST  WORD  35 1 

of  their  children  in  buildings  which  have  but  little  more  comfort  or 
architectural  beauty  than  a  cheap  barn  or  a  box  car.  If  we  judge 
a  man's  business  by  his  place  of  business,  it  is  no  wonder  that  our 
people  are  becoming  dissatisfied  with  the  average  school  building,  its 
equipment  and  its  environment.  It  is  impossible  to  keep  the  best 
teacher  in  an  uncomfortable,  ill-fitted  schoolhouse. 

All  of  which  is  true  of  many  other  states  as  well  as  of 
South  Carolina. 

A  most  valuable  pamphlet  entitled  "Better  Schools  in 
South  Carolina  "  contains  the  papers  read  at  a  conference 
of  South  Carolina  educators  held  at  Charleston,  April  1 1, 
1903.    The  papers  discuss  the  following  subjects  : 

1.  The  Value  of  Education. 

2.  Local  Taxation. 

3.  School  Consolidation. 

4.  The  Improved  Teacher  and  the  Improved  Trustee. 

5.  School  Supervision. 

6.  The  School  Building  and  its  Equipment. 

7.  Beautifying  School  Grounds. 

8.  The  School  Library. 

9.  Country  High  Schools. 

10.    The  Industrial  Side  of  the  Public  School. 

One  quotation  from  the  last  will  bear  reading : 

Teach  the  great  mass  of  the  people  how  to  produce  something,  as 
well  as  how  to  speak  and  write  something,  and  we  have  filled  an 
aching  void  which  has  long  existed  in  our  educational  system.  We 
shall  then  look  forward  with  new  hope  and  inspiration  to  better  things 
generally,  remembering  that  no  civic,  religious,  or  educational  system 
can  long  exist  and  succeed  without  support,  backed  by  the  ability  of 
its  people  to  produce. 

South  Carolina  is  moving  in  the  matter  of  consolidation 
of  country  schools.  State  Superintendent  Martin  says  : 
"  The  strongest  argument  that  I  have  heard  in  favor  of 
consolidation  is  that  wherever  it  is  tried  the  people  like  it 


352  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

and  usually  become  its  best  friends  and  supporters  when  it 
is  put  into  operation." 

Following  the  above  conference  a  campaign  for  edu- 
cation was  carried  on  in  many  counties  in  the  state,  and 
great  results  are  following.  The  report  of  the  state  super- 
intendent gives  the  following  interesting  fact  : 

Not  long  since,  in  a  mountain  community  known  as  the  "  Dark 
Corner,"  I  was  very  much  gratified  to  know  that  the  school  had 
secured  a  library,  and  I  was  even  more  pleased  to  hear  one  of  its 
patrons  say  that  he  preferred  to  send  his  children  five  miles  to  a 
well-equipped  school  rather  than  send  them  to  a  poorly  taught  and 
unfurnished  school  near  his  own  door. 

December  15,  1905,  was  Library  Day  for  South  Carolina, 
and  the  expectation  was  to  put  twenty-five  thousand  new 
books  into  the  school  libraries. 

Georgia  is  making  strides  in  the  improvement  of  the 
country  school  and  is  undergoing  a  general  educational 
awakening,  as  shown  by  the  1904  report  of  State  School 
Commissioner  William  B.  Merritt.  In  that  report  is  a  joint 
address  to  the  southern  people  by  the  state  superintendents 
of  all  the  southern  states.  The  following  extract  shows  the 
importance  of  the  country  school  in  the  South  : 

The  rural  schools.  Between  eight  ninths  and  nine  tenths  of  the 
population  of  the  South  is  rural  and  agricultural.  The  great  mass 
of  the  people  of  the  South,  therefore,  are  dependent  upon  the  rural 
schools  for  education.  The  rural  schools,  then,  are  the  strategic  point 
in  the  educational  system  of  the  southern  states.  Farming  is  still 
the  greatest  institution  in  the  South.  The  preservation  and  improve- 
ment of  its  greatest  industry  and  its  greatest  institution  depend  upon 
the  improvement  of  these  rural  schools.  Because  of  the  sparse  popu- 
lation, the  large  territory,  the  bad  roads,  the  geographical  barriers, 
the  small  amount  of  taxation,  and  the  small  school  fund,  these  rural 
schools  are  the  most  poorly  equipped  and  the  most  inefficient  public 
schools  in  the  South.    Unless  they  can  be  made  equal  in  merit  to  the 


A  LAST  WORD 


353 


best  public  schools  of  the  towns  and  cities,  and  adapted  to  educating 
farmers'  children  for  farm  life  rather  than  away  from  farm  life,  many 
of  the  best  people  in  the  country  will  continue  to  leave  the  farms; 
and  the  disastrous  drain  upon  the  best  blood  of  the  country  will  be 
kept  up  until  there  may  be  left  there  only  the  poorest  peasant  popula- 
tion, too  ignorant  to  know  the  value  and  blessing  of  education,  and 
too  indifferent  to  care  to  secure  it  for  their  offspring. 

The  women's  clubs  of  Georgia  are  doing  most  excellent 
practical  work  to  secure  better  conditions  for  the  schools. 
A  representative  of  the  Women's  Club  of  Macon  writes 


Fig.  153.    Pleasant  to  Look  Upon 

most  interestingly  of  the  work  done  there,  —  how  the 
cooperation  of  the  superintendent  and  the  board  of  educa- 
tion was  secured,  also  that  of  the  teachers  and  school 
children  ;  and  when  they  would  reacli  the  parents  of  the 
children,  the  ladies  of  the  club  wondered  in  the  spirit  of 
the  story  of  a  tenement  district  in  New  York.  This  is 
the  story  : 

"  Mrs.  Malone,  and  did  the  settlement  visitor  see  you  this  morning?  " 
"  Sure  she  did  that ;  came  telling  me  about  sanation  and  high 
genny,  and  telling  me  to  give  my  baby  civilized  milk,  and  I  said,  ses 
I  :  '  Have  you  any  children  ? '  and  she  says, '  No.'  I  ses :  '  Then  what 
do  you  come  telling  me  how  to  bring  up  children  ?  I  guess  I  knows ; 
I  buried  eight  already.'  " 


354  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

This  antagonistic  spirit  did  not  prevail  with  the  parents 
at  Macon.  They  heard  and  received  gladly.  Improvement 
for  the  schools  meant  to  them  books,  magazines,  pictures, 
fence,  and  seed. 

Georgia  has  many  school-improvement  clubs  scattered 
over  the  state  and  doing  a  noble  work. 

In  Missouri  the  cities  and  towns  are  spending  annually 
nearly  five  times  as  much  for  school  buildings  and  school 
equipment  as  do  the  country  districts,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  much  larger  percentage  of  pupils 
enrolled  in  the  country  districts.  The  poor  attendance  in 
the  country  is  attributed  to  lack  of  organization  and  lack 
of  high-school  opportunities.  State  Superintendent  Car- 
rington  is  working  for  more  efficient  supervision  for  the 
country  school  and  advocating  making  the  county  the  unit 
for  school-revenue  purposes.  Mr.  Carrington  is  making 
some  progress  with  consolidation.    He  says  : 

Too  long  have  we  striven  to  locate  a  school  on  every  hill  and  in 
every  valley.  Instead  of  ten  thousand  school  districts  in  Missouri  it 
would  be  better  if  there  were  only  a  thousand.  We  would  then  have 
a  thousand  high  schools  instead  of  the  three  hundred  at  present.  If 
properly  distributed,  there  would  be  a  high  school  within  six  miles 
of  every  home,  —  a  thing  to  be  desired.  Until  this  is  accomplished 
Missouri  cannot  claim  to  have  a  school  for  every  child. 

He  has  also  issued  a  course  of  study  in  the  elements  of 
agriculture  for  the  country  schools  of  his  state.  The  sub- 
jects are  grouped  under  the  following  general  heads: 

1.  Studies  on  soil. 

2.  Roads,  —  importance  and  improvement. 

3.  Studies  on  seeds  and  related  subjects. 

4.  Studies  on  plants. 

5.  Orcharding  and  gardening. 

6.  Studies  of  insects. 

7.  Stock  raising  and  feeding. 


J 


A  LAST  WORD  ^cr 

A  list  of  reference  books  on  elementary  agriculture, 
together  with  a  list  of  Farmers'  Bulletins  as  issued  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington,  are  given  for 
study  and  reference  by  both  pupils  and  teachers. 

In  Minnesota,  for  the  year  ending  July  31,  1904,  a  total 
of  eight  hundred  and  thirty  country  schools  received  state 
aid  to  the  extent  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  each. 
The  country  schools  receiving  such  aid  must  satisfy  the 
State  Department  of  Public  Instruction  that  the  heating 
and  the  ventilation  are  adequate  to  the  purpose  for  which 
they  are  intended.  State  Superintendent  Olsen  has  issued 
a  bulletin  giving  directions  for  installing  a  practical  system 
of  heating  and  ventilation  for  a  one-room  country  school. 
Because  of  this  stimulus  in  the  way  of  state  aid  not  only 
have  eight  hundred  and  thirty  country  schools  made  a 
much-needed  improvement,  but  also  two  hundred  and 
seventy  semigraded  schools  have  been  helped  along  simi- 
lar lines.  The  force  of  the  example  of  these  districts  will 
influence  neighboring  ones. 

The  state  of  Virginia  has  recently  conducted  a  notable 
educational  campaign  in  which  special  emphasis  was  placed 
upon  country-school  conditions. 

The  .state  of  North  Carolina  is  making  wonderful  prog- 
ress in  the  improvement  of  country  schools.  Since  June 
30,  1902,  a  total  of  1 133  country  schoolhouses  has  been 
built  at  an  aggregate  cost  of  $490,272.44.  The  value  of 
the  entire  pubUc-school  property  of  the  state  has  been 
increased  from  §2,632,659  to  $4,666,770.  By  act  of  the 
General  Assembly,  in  1903,  a  loan  fund  was  established, 
which  now  amounts  to  $254,065.  This  sum  is  increasing 
every  year  by  the  four  per  cent  interest  on  the  amount 
loaned  and  by  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  swamp  lands 


356 


AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 


belonging  to  the  State  Board  of  Education.  Of  this  loan 
fund  one  tenth,  together  with  the  interest  on  the  entire 
fund  and  the  annual  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  swamp  lands, 
is  available  annually  as  a  loan  for  the  building  and  improve- 
ment of  schoolhouses. 
The  state  school  law  has 
been  amended  so  that 
every  new  schoolhouse 
erected  must  be  in  ac- 
cordance with  plans 
approved  by  the  State 
Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  and  the 
County  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. The  number  of 
school  districts  without 
houses  of  any  description 
has  been  reduced  from 
eight  hundred  and  forty 
to  five  hundred  and  fifty- 
three,  and  the  number  of 
log  schoolhouses  has 
been  decreased  from 
eight  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  to  five  hundred  and 
forty-nine.    In  the  same 


Fig.  154.    ISuch  a  Tree  as  this  ( )ught 
to  be  in  Every  School  Yard 


length  of  time,  also,  much  valuable  work  has  been  done 
in  furnishing  and  beautifying  schoolhouses,  improving 
school  grounds,  etc. 

A  recent  pamphlet  issued  from  the  ofifice  of  the  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  for  North  Carolina 
gives  a  clear  and  definite  account  of  the  valuable  assistance 


A  LAST  WORD 


357 


the  earnest  women  of  the  state  are  rendering  in  the  im- 
provement of  school  conditions.  It  shows  how  women, 
properly  organized  with  a  plan  for  work  and  working  the 
plan,  may  create  a  public  sentiment  for  better  things  for 
the  country  child. 

The  Woman's  Association  for  the  Betterment  of  Public 
Schoolhouses  in  North  Carolina  was  organized  at  the 
State  Normal  and  Industrial  College  at  Greensboro,  in 
March,  1902.  The  organization  comprises  a  state  associa- 
tion, county  associations,  and  local  associations.  Article  II 
of  the  state  constitution  reads  as  follows  : 

The  object  of  this  association  shall  be  to  unite  the  women  citizens 
of  North  Carolina  for  the  purpose  of  awakening  their  interest  in  the 
improvement  of  public  schoolhouses  in  our  state.  It  will  undertake 
to  have  local  associations  in  every  county.  Through  these  it  will 
endeavor  to  interest  a  volunteer  association  in  the  neighborhood  of 
every  public  schoolhouse,  which  will  help  to  beautify  the  premises  by 
planting  trees  and  flowers,  placing  pictures  on  the  walls,  or  otherwise 
improving  the  school  environment  of  our  future  citizens;  to  furnish 
entertaining  and  instructive  amusements,  and  to  encourage  the  estab- 
lishment of  local  public  libraries. 

Article  II  of  the  county  constitution  reads  : 

The  purpose  of  this  association  shall  be  : 

1 .  To  arouse  interest  in  the  educational  conditions,  problems,  and 
work  in County. 

2.  To  interest  the  people  of  the  county  in  the  improvement  of  their 
schools. 

3.  To  establish  a  local  association  in  every  school  district  in  the 
county. 

Article  II  of  the  local  constitution  reads : 

The  purpose  of  this  organization  shall  be  : 

I.  To  arouse  interest  in  education  and  to  insist  upon  the  impor- 
tance of  every  child  being  in  school  every  day  of  the  school  term. 


358  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

2.  To  unite  all  the  people  of  this  community  for  the  improvement 
of  our  public  school  (i)  by  placing  in  the  school  facilities  for  health, 
comfort,  and  education,  together  with  objects  of  beauty;  (2)  by  planting 
trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers  in  the  school  grounds;  (3)  by  encouraging 
the  establishment  of  a  public  library  in  connection  with  the  school ; 
(4)  by  making  the  school  the  center  of  the  community  by  furnishing 
wholesome  and  instructive  amusements ;  in  a  word,  to  improve  the 
physical  and  intellectual  environments  of  our  future  citizens. 

During  the  first  three  years  of  the  existence  of  the 
Woman's  Association  fifty-four  county  organizations  have 
been  formed,  with  nearly  two  hundred  local  branches.  The 
state  organization  employs  five  field  workers,  who  have 
visited  forty-five  counties,  visiting  schools  and  addressing 
meetings  of  teachers  and  patrons  of  the  schools. 

The  report  from  one  or  two  counties  will  show  the 
extent  and  importance  of  the  work  of  the  association. 

Cleveland  County  reports  : 

During  the  year  1903  the  county  association  raised  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  for  improvements.  There  were  twelve  libraries  estab- 
lished and  twelve  houses  improved  through  the  influence  of  the  asso- 
ciation, the  value  of  which  was  increased  from  eighteen  hundred 
dollars  to  five  thousand  dollars. 

Rockingham  County: 

There  was  a  large  association  organized,  affecting  seventy-two 
schools.  They  raised  fifty  dollars  for  pictures,  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  dollars  for  libraries,  and  twenty-five  dollars  for  other  improve- 
ments. During  the  year  five  hundred  pictures  were  hung  on  the  walls 
of  the  public  schoolhouses  and  twelve  libraries  were  established. 
Two  houses,  valued  at  twenty-three  hundred  dollars,  were  built 
through  the  influence  of  the  association. 

Surry  County: 

An  association  was  organized,  with  seventy-five  members.  Every 
school  in  the  county  was  reached.  Through  the  influence  of  the 
association  twenty-three  new  houses  were  built,  increasing  the  valua- 
tion from  $1200  to  $5750. 


A  LAST  WORD  359 

Wayne  County: 

An  association  was  organized,  with  two  hundred  and  thirty  active 
members  and  fifteen  associate  members.  During  the  year  forty-three 
schools  were  reached.  The  association  raised  seventy-five  dollars  for 
pictures,  four  hundred  and  sixty-four  dollars  for  libraries,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  dollars  for  other  improvements,  hung  two  hundred  and  six 
framed  pictures,  and  helped  to  establish  forty-one  libraries. 

The  influence  of  a  similar  organization  for  the  improve- 
ment of  conditions  for  the  country  school  ought  to  be  felt 
in  every  state.  It  is  not  North  Carolina  alone  that  needs 
this  awakening.  The  following  picture  of  the  average 
country  schoolhouse  in  North  Carolina  may  not  be  the 
"average"  in  many  other  states,  but  such  a  picture  can  be 
seen  in  too  many  places  in  too  many  states.  This  picture 
is  given  in  the  pamphlet  issued  by  State  Superintendent 
Joyner  (1905)  which  describes  the  work  of  the  Woman's 
Association,  and  shows  the  urgent  and  patriotic  duty  of  the 
noble  women  of  North  Carolina. 

The  average  house  is  accurately  and  faithfully  described 
by  Mr.  Charles  L.  Coon  as  follows : 

The  schoolhouse  is  a  shabby-built  board  structure  one  story  high. 
The  overhead  ceiling  is  not  more  than  nine  feet  from  the  floor.  There 
is  one  door  in  the  end  of  the  house  ;  there  are  six  small  windows, 
three  on  either  side.  There  are  no  blinds  and  no  curtains.  The  desks 
are  homemade,  with  perpendicular  backs  and  seats,  all  the  same  size. 
There  is  a  dilapidated  wood  stove,  but  no  wood  box,  the  wood  for  the 
fire  being  piled  on  the  floor  about  the  stove.  The  stove  is  red  with 
rust  and  dirt,  never  having  been  polished  and  cleaned  since  it  was 
placed  in  position  for  use.  The  floor  of  the  house  is  covered  with  red 
dirt  and  litter  from  the  wood.  There  are  several  broom-sedge  brooms 
lying  in  one  corner  of  the  room.  The  occupied  blackboard  space  in 
this  house  is  just  eighteen  square  feet.  The  blackboard  is,  however, 
too  high  for  the  children  to  use  well,  and  it  is  too  small  for  anything 
but  a  bulletin  board.    There  is  no  teacher's  desk  or  table.    There  is 


360  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

one  chair.  The  children's  hats  and  cloaks  are  hung  on  nails  around 
the  room.  The  walls  and  windows  are  covered  with  dust  and  seem 
never  to  have  been  washed.  All  the  children's  books  are  soiled  and 
look  very  much  like  their  surroundings.  There  are  no  steps  to  the 
schoolhouse;  an  inclined  plane  of  dirt  answers  that  purpose.  The  yard 
is  very  muddy  during  the  winter,  and  the  general  appearance  of  the 
place  anything  but  attractive. 

The  reader,  perhaps  a  country  school-teacher,  perhaps  a 
teacher  in  a  fine  city-school  building,  no  doubt  wonders, 
What  in  the  world  should  I  do  if  placed  in  a  schoolhouse 
like  this  ?  In  truth,  there  are  tens  of  thousands  of  country 
teachers  teaching  school  under  conditions  very  much  like 
those  in  the  "average  school"  described  above.  Many  of 
them  are  making  heroic  and  effectual  efforts  to  improve 
conditions,  although  the  world  does  not  hear  enough  of 
their  great  work.  Now  for  the  teacher  who  has  done  noth- 
ing so  far,  but  wants  to  know  what  to  do,  the  following  true 
picture  is  given  in  contrast  with  the  one  hung  above.  This 
country  school-teacher,  Mr.  John  S.  Teague,  won  a  scholar- 
ship to  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  summer 
school,  offered  by  the  Wayne  County  Association  of  North 
Carolina  to  the  teacher  of  the  county  who  should  make  the 
greatest  improvement  in  his  or  her  schoolhouse  and  grounds 
during  the  year.     This  is  what  he  tells  of  things  done  : 

When  I  first  came  to  Watery  Branch,  Wayne  County,  two  years 
ago,  I  found  a  house  with  not  room  enough  for  the  children,  situated 
in  the  woods,  with  a  path  in  front  leading  to  the  door.  The  building 
was  surrounded  with  shrubbery  of  every  description,  from  the  tall 
oak  to  the  tiniest  fern,  intermingled  with  dead  brush  and  decaying 
leaves  that  could  count  their  age  by  decades.  Dead  stumps  of  all 
sizes  peeped  up  here  and  there,  with  their  snaggled  teeth  offering 
defiance  to  the  passer-by.  A  wash  in  front,  on  the  side  of  the  road, 
was  slowly  but  surely  eating  its  way  to  the  house.  Many  of  the  limbs 
of  the  trees  were  kissing  old  mother  earth.    All  the  trees  needed  an 


A   LAST  WORD  05, 

introduction  to  the  pruner's  knife,  and  not  a  few  were  anxiously  wait- 
ing in  oid-maid  fashion  for  a  husband  Ijy  tlie  name  uf  Mr.  Ax.  who 
would  lift  them  from  their  sad  state  and  dress  them  in  costumes  to 
be  an  ornament  to  the  people. 

If  an  artist  had  by  chance  gone  into  llie  Iniilding.  lie  would  not 
have  found  anything  to  tickle  his  fancy  or  please  liis  eye  save  the 
children,  and  perhaps  the  teacher.  Here  were  chiklren  hungering  and 
thirsting  for  books  to  read,  but  sadly  waiting  to  be  filled.  Nothing 
there  to  woo  them  to  come  to  this  sacred  place  save  tlie  whistle  of 
the  wind  and  the  song  of  the  mocking  bird.  With  very  few  l-ooks  to 
read,  no  yard  to  ])lay  in,  no  tiowers  in  the  vard  or  house  to  send  forth 
their  fragrance  for  them,  no  pictures  on  the  walls  for  them  to  look  at, 
no  shades  on  the  windows,  not  comfortable  room  enough  in  the 
house,  is  it  any  wonder  that  so  many  of  tlie  boys  and  girls  never 
came  to  school .'' 

To-dav,  bv  the  cooperative  work  of  jjarents.  pupils,  and  teacher, 
we  have  turned  these  dr\-  bones  into  a  li\iiig  j^ersonage.  Fifty  stumps 
have  been  taken  up.  tliirtv  trees  uprooted.  logs  cut  and  put  into  the 
wash  and  dirt  thrown  over  them  and  made  level.  There  are  tiowers 
of  several  kinds  in  the  house  on  shelves  made  for  the  purjiose,  and 
flowers  in  the  yard.  The  limbs  from  the  trees  ha\e  ceased  to  kiss  the 
earth,  but  witii  the  aid  of  the  pruner's  knife  those  left  are  pointing 
heavenward,  inviting  all  to  let  their  lives  do  likewise. 

Twentv  pictures  are  in  the  house,  seven  of  them  nicely  framed. 
Shades  are  over  all  the  windows.  We  have  a  library  of  books  neatly 
cased.  Our  seating  capacity  has  been  enlarged  one  third  by  taking 
out  an  old  rostrum. 

We  gave  two  nice  entertainments  and  collected  forty  two  doll.irs 
with  which  to  pav  for  our  library,  ])ictures,  shades,  etc.  We  still  have 
on  hand  fourteen  dollars  and  twenty-tive  cents  with  whicli  to  have 
planted  two  rows  of  shruljbery  from  the  front  of  the  house  to 
the  road. 

It  is  with  pride  that  I  point  to  the  fact  that  the  children  were  the 
most  anxious  to  lielj)  in  this  beautiful  work.  Instead  of  disliking  tiie 
old  place,  they  are  proud  of  their  school.  Their  books  are  kt'pt  ne.ittr. 
their  faces  and  hands  cleaner,  and  their  hair  is  usually  lonibed. 
Somehow  the  boys  do  not  mind  building  fires,  sweeping  the  yard,  or 
cleaning  off  their  feet  at  the  door.    The  girls  are  delighted   to  sweep 


362  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

the  floor  and  dust  the  desks.  No  spider  has  a  chance  of  life  on  those 
premises,  and  last,  but  not  least,  our  worthy  county  superintendent 
enjoys  visiting  us. 

Comment  is  unnecessary.    Go  thou  and  do  likewise. 

The  corresponding  secretary  of  the  state  organization, 
Miss  Mary  Moore,  furnishes  the  following  paragraph  with 
reference  to  cooperative  work  : 

Since  the  organization  of  the  association  many  hundred  letters 
have  been  written  to  the  county  superintendents,  officers  of  local 
associations,  and  teachers.  Literature  has  been  distributed  over  most 
of  the  counties  of  the  state.  Through  Mr.  J.  B.  Upham,  who  has 
charge  of  that  department  of  the  paper,  the  YontJi's  Cojupanion 
has  very  kindly  given  us  a  large  number  of  pamphlets  on  "  Ideal 
Public  Schools,"  "  How  to  Set  out  Shrubbery,"  etc. ;  also  three 
thousand  copies  of  Free  Public  Education,  a  little  pamphlet  setting 
forth  the  need  for  free  public  education  and  having  the  name  of  the 
Woman's  Association  printed  on  the  back.  The  Youth'' s  Cotnpanion 
also  gave  pictures,  which  many  of  our  schools  have  been  fortu- 
nate enough  to  secure.  Mr.  O.  J.  Kern,  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction,  Winnebago  County,  Illinois,  sent  many  valuable  sug- 
gestions on  the  improvement  of  houses  and  grounds.  The  Perry 
Pictures  Company  furnished  a  large  number  of  mounted  pictures 
suitable  for  schoolroom  decoration,  and  many  sample  pictures  to 
be  distributed  among  teachers.  Mr.  L.  H.  Bailey  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity sent  one  hundred  and  fifty  copies  of  Agriculture  Bulletin 
No.  160,  which  have  been  distributed.  Mr.  Clarence  H.  Poe,  editor 
of  the  Progressive  Partner,  offered  to  publish  any  article  on  our  work 
that  we  would  send.  Letters  have  been  received  from  many  county 
superintendents  which  show  that  they  are  in  hearty  sympathy  with 
our  work.  On  all  sides  the  association  receives  expressions  of  hearty 
sympathy  and  cooperation. 

In  the  report  of  Mr.  John  T.  Prince,  Agent  for  the  Mas- 
sachusetts State  Board  of  Education,  as  given  December 
31,  1904,  that  gentleman  has  the  following  with  reference 


A  LAST  WORD  363 

to    the    country-school    problem    of    the    Old    Bay    State. 
Writing  about  the  future  of  rural  schools,  he  says  : 

In  this  statement  of  the  conditions  underlying  the  work  of  the 
rural  schools  a  rather  hopeful  view  has  been  presented,  partly  because 
they  show  a  great  improvement  over  conditions  which  formerly 
existed,  and  partly  because  they  indicate  a  spirit  of  activity  and  prog- 
ress. It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  in  actual  work  done  they 
are,  as  a  rule,  inferior  to  the  schools  of  the  cities  and  large  towns; 
but  the  success  attained  in  some  rural  schools  warrants  the  belief 
that  with  the  improved  conditions  these  schools  have  yet  a  great 
work  to  do. 

Besides  carrying  on  the  so-called  "  regular  studies  "  in  a  practical 
and  effective  way.  they  may,  through  lessons  in  nature  studv,  help  the 
children  to  a  genuine  love  of  nature  and  country  life.  They  may  be 
the  means  of  introducing  into  the  home  artistic  and  useful  occupa- 
tions ;  and  they  may,  as  some  have  done  already,  do  much  in  manual 
and  industrial  work  to  prepare  the  pupils  to  choose  and  follow  effi- 
ciently some  vocation  in  life.  Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  hope 
that  some  time  in  the  future  the  farms  themselves  will  be  made  more 
productive  than  they  are,  through  the  agency  of  proper  instruction  in 
the  school.  By  some  such  means  as  tliese  life  in  the  country  may 
be  made  more  attractive,  and  the  present  rush  of  young  people  to 
the  cities  may  be  stayed. 

For  the  present,  besides  consolidation,  the  country  schools 
of  Massachusetts  are  being  helped  by  increasing  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  teaching  force,  — a  \ery  important  imj^rove- 
ment.  This  is  being  done,  as  Mr.  Prince  says,  by  ( i )  better 
salaries  because  of  increased  state  aid;  (2)  by  increasing 
the  number  of  normal  schools  so  that  more  persons  may 
receive  a  training  for  teaching  ;  (3)  by  the  changed  character 
of  the  supervision. 

North  Dakota  may  well  lay  claim  to  being  a  \ery  pro- 
gressive state  educationally.  For  five  years  a  law  has  been 
in  force   whereby  the   county   superintendent   may  call  a 


364  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

directors'  meeting  in  each  county  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
cussing educational  topics  and  policy.  Thus  it  seems  that 
North  Dakota  is  the  first  in  this  regard. 

It  is  also  claimed  for  this  state  that  better  wages  in  gen- 
eral are  paid  county  superintendents.  Counties  with  more 
than  fifty  schools  must  provide  a  deputy  to  assist  the  county 
superintendent  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  Mileage  is 
paid  each  county  superintendent  at  the  rate  of  ten  cents 
per  mile  for  every  mile  he  travels  in  the  discharge  of  duty. 

Again  North  Dakota  strikes  twelve.  The  minimum- 
wage  law  for  teachers  is  forty-fiv^e  dollars  per  month 
for  the  second  grade.  Teachers  of  a  higher  grade  must 
receive  more.  All  third-grade  certificates  are  to  be  elimi- 
nated after  1908.  Other  states  having  a  minimum-wage 
law  are  Indiana,  West  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
and  Ohio. 

The  following  is  the  law  recently  enacted  in  Ohio  : 

Minimum-Salary  and  State-Aid  Law 

Section  i.  That  no  person  shall  be  employed  to  teach  in  any- 
public  school  in  Ohio  for  less  than  forty  dollars  a  month  ;  and  that, 
when  any  school  district  in  Ohio  has  not  sufficient  money  to  pay  its 
teachers  forty  dollars  per  month  for  eight  months  of  the  year,  after 
the  board  of  education  of  said  district  has  made  the  maximum  school 
levy  authorized  bylaw,  three  fourths  of  which  shall  be  for  the  tuition 
fund,  then  said  school  district  is  hereby  authorized  to  receive  from 
the  state  treasury  sufficient  money  to  make  up  this  deficiency.  Any 
board  of  education  having  such  a  deficit  shall  make  affidavits  to  the 
county  auditor,  who  shall  send  certified  statement  of  the  facts  to  the 
state  auditor.  The  state  auditor  shall  issue  a  voucher  on  the  state 
treasurer  in  favor  of  the  treasurer  of  said  school  district  for  the  full 
amount  of  the  deficit  in  the  tuition  fund. 


A  LAST  WORD 


365 


Section'  2.  Any  school  district  shall  have  the  state  aid  provided 
for  in  Section  one,  provided  it  has  in  it  not  less  than  twenty  times  as 
many  persons  of  school  age  as  it  has  teachers. 

Section  3.  All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  herewith  are 
hereby  repealed. 


A  Statistical  Table  .showing  the    Improvement  in  the 
Rural  Schools  of  Tennessee  from  1900  to  1905 


Sc//  olaslic  Population 

1900 658,238 

1905 645.237 

Ave7-age  Attendance 


1900 
1905 


302,11 1 
348,688 


Entire  Amount  Exponied 

1900 $1,809,246.34 

1905 3'io''847-33 

Amount  appropriated  by  State 

1900 $129,41316 

1905 635,494-78 


jYumber  of  Schoolhouses 


1900 
1905 


7043 
6855 


Average  Monthly  Compensation 
of  Teachers 

53I-I6 

34-87 


1900 
1905 


Pupils  Enrolled 

1900 433-759 

1905 507-423 

Average  Length  of  School  Term 

1900 96  days 

1905 113  days 

Amount  per  Capita  of  Scholastic 
Population 

1900 52.35 

1905 4-54 

Amount  appropriated  by  Counties 

1900 5i,679'833-'8 

1905 2,466,352.55 


Value  of  School  Property 

1900 $i.459'958-iS 

•905 


2,701,162.00 


Per  Cent  of  Graduates  from 
Public-School  Course 


1900 
1905 


67% 
1 7'% 


366  AMONG  COUNTRY  SCHOOLS 

And  now  for  the  last  word.  TJie  country  child  is  ejttitled 
to  every  whit  as  good  an  educational  opportunity  as  that 
now  enjoyed  by  the  most  favored  city  child  attending  the 
American  public  school. 

In  order  to  have  this  equality  of  educational  opportimity 
for  the  country  child,  the  country  people  must  spend  more 
money  on  the  country  school  and  spend  it  in  a  better  way. 

Thou  shalt  enrich  and  enlarge  the  life  of  the 

COUNTRY    child. 


DATE  DUE 

mk  t 

6 

R£CD  MAY 

23  1966 

GAYLOBD 

PHINTEDIN  U.S.A. 

jC  Sout^e^^  Megtcna.  ^ir/ar,  f  a--  :•, 

III  I II  Mil  iimi 


A     000  494  358     5 


